Baby Update

Baby Caroline arrived on Friday, August 20 weighing 7 lbs., 7 ozs. We are extremely happy and tired at the same time. I'm sorry it took me a while to update this on my blog, but I have posted more on Facebook than I have on here.

I also have some new sermons uploaded on here, as I've been a bit delinquent about adding them. We are currently studying the seven churches of Asia Minor on Sunday nights, so you will see these as the most recent sermons. I hope they will benefit you, as I know they have been beneficial for me.

Lunchtime Lunker

Some people spend their lunch breaks eating lunch, catching up with friends and various other things. I, however, prefer to spend mine chasing those brown fish of middle tennessee. I have spent my summer free time on the quest for a twenty inch smallmouth, and my appetite had increased after catching two smallies of eighteen inches and several others sixteen and seventeen inches. My lunch break on a Monday found me trying to accomplish the feat of catching one of those big smallies.

Having found a feeder creek into the Duck River, I was sweating like a dog on one of those sultery, Tennessee summer days trying to locate a trophy fish. After catching a few spots, a largemouth and a decent smallmouth, I decided to wade downstream in the river to make an attempt at landing another fish on the Zoom Super Fluke. I knew my time was about to come to a close, as I was needing to head back to the church office to finish up some study time in the book of Romans for my Bible class.

As I was walking along in the water having noticed a couple of good structures in the current, my eyes panned ahead to notice a long, black fish facing upstream at about a forty-five degree angle. I knew by the appearance it was a trophy smallmouth. I flung my fluke downstream past the fish, working it back toward the lunker who was lurking in the current. About the time my fluke reached the fish, it looked as if my bait would go unnoticed. What happened next was a different story.

Just as the bait got right over the fish, the predator changed positions, whirled around and attacked the artificial minnow with a vengeance! Struck with an incredible force, the fight was now on to see who would win. Even though I have caught many good smallmouth this summer, I have lost my share of fish on the fluke. As I was reeling in the monster, I had the thought of what disposition I would have if the hook just popped out of the fish's mouth.

Thankfully, I managed to land that big smallie, and the photographs ensued to verify my catch and provide more long-lasting memories. This was the biggest smallmouth I had ever landed, and the quest for the twenty inch smalljaw had come to an end. I now had a twenty-one inch trophy. This was a very rewarding angling experience.

The next time you're thinking about what you're going to eat for lunch, try a change of pace and wet your line in one of our middle Tennessee streams or rivers. You just might wind up with a prize fish that will make you forget about your appetite. Oh, by the way, do eat something as I don't want you to starve!

Hello Again!

Yes, it has been a while since I have posted anything, but I'm making a comeback that would rival even that of Bob Dylan's music! Oh, wait, there's not a comeback from Bob, so that means mine wins! Hah, I had to have a little fun today.

I have spent a lot of time fishing these past few weeks with my boys on the creek, and we have had a marvelous time. The pics of some of my fish are posted above for anyone to see. We have been up the creek without a paddle, loving every minute of it!

I plan to post some more of my sermons in the next little bit, so stay posted for some of those. I hope everyone is doing well. Just so you know, my blog has been on the fritz for the past little while, but now it's up and running fine. Thanks for being patient with me!

What did the gasoline pouring out of my car cost me?

We cry over many types of liquid that have been spilled or poured out of containers accidentally: spilled milk (as the saying goes), grape juice on carpets (why do you think we have crimson carpet in the church building?) and other types of mishaps of the liquidy kind. Most of these at worst only cost us a stain with which we must deal.

Recently I was pumping my gas as I always do. I started the pump by inserting my debit card, locked the handle of the pump and went inside to get a SunDrop while my car was being fueled. After talking to a few people I knew, I was about to pay for my drink when somebody said "that car just overflowed with gas." Fear set in as I realized it was my car. Never in my life have I had that happen, nor had I seen it happen. In embarassment, I rushed to the car, but thankfully someone had already stopped it for me. I looked at how much gas had been pumped, and let's just say it pumped out about another eight plus gallons onto the concrete pad at the gas pumps. That little mishap with the gasoline pouring out of my gas tank cost me about $25 more than I would have spent otherwise. Let's just say I'll not be leaving my car unattended at the gas pumps anymore as the sign does say "do not leave car unattended while fueling." This was like throwing away money in the trash can, though the price could have been a heftier penalty if someone hadn't been gracious enough to shut off my pump.

It reminds me of another time when precious fluid was poured out at a much higher cost than my gasoline. Jesus, when instituting the Lord's Supper, said "this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mk. 14:24). Paul said to the Ephesian elders that Christ purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). The Hebrews writer said "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb. 9:22). The picture in the original language is a pouring out of blood. Christ paid for our sins with the ultimate outpouring - His blood!

Thanks be to God that we can't put a quantitative price on the sacrifice that His Son gave for us. The outpouring of gas at the gas station was cleaned up with the oil spill and the rest evaporated from the heat. However, the blood of Jesus still continues the cleanse the child of God who walks in the light (1 Jn. 1:7). Do you need to take advantage of the blood of Christ?

Potpourri

I haven't blogged in a while, but I wanted to catch everyone up to speed on what was going on with me. Are you ready? Okay, here it comes!

• Turkey season is finally over, so now it's time to go catch some fish.
• I have had two very busy weeks, but they have been productively busy. Last Thursday a group from West 7th went to the Brushy community in Hickman county and worked on a house that had been hit hard by the flood. I will write an article about this in the church bulletin sometime soon.
• Last Friday I played in the golf challenge for the Tennessee Children's Home in Spring Hill, and our team came in second place. There is a story about me kissing a frog, and I think the pictures will show up on Facebook, but I enjoyed posing for the camera.
• Saturday I worked from 6:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. I pulled weeds, sprayed Roundup, moved boxwood bushes, planted double knockout rose bushes, spread three truck loads of mulch, conducted a funeral, mowed the yard and field, applied Preen to our mulchbed and that about sums up my day. That afternoon at the funeral, I almost pulled the lectern over on top of me. I must have put too much pressure on it with my hands when I was going to sit down, and I could hear gasps from the audience. As I turned around it was coming right toward me, and everybody got a big smile as I returned it to its upright position. That's the first time I've ever had that happen at a funeral, and I've conducted many of them over the last eight and a half years.
• Today we hosted the 3rd Monday Workshop at West 7th, and we finished up by eating lunch together at Farmers Family Restaurant. Next month we will travel to Hendersonville.

What Will Happen to Me in Return?

Have you ever wondered what would happen to you if you didn't comply with the census bureau by sending in your completed 2010 census? I have recently discovered that they will come to your house to ask you questions. Later, if you are still found as non-compliant, they can flag you and eventually charge you with jail time! Just as there are things which can happen to us in return in life, the same is true from a spiritual perspective. Jesus addresses some of these things in Matthew 7:1-12.

Be constrained in judgment (1-6)
Have you ever seen a bird dog in action? When they find that covey of quail they stop in their tracks, pointing out to the hunters where the birds are. Unfortunately, there are people like this religiously. They are constantly pointing out the faults of other people.

Jesus tells us to be constrained in our judgment of others. In regard to faultfinding, there are some principles to remember. Judging is not wrong (James 5:19-20; Gal. 6:1-2), but hypocritical judgment is wrong. Jesus says we need to perform some corrective surgery before we attempt to help someone else. These people have obvious sins in their life that will hinder the correction of others. Their sins are as plain as the nose on their face. It reminds me of Pinnochio when he was telling lies, and the Blue Fairy said "a lie keeps growing and growing until it is plain as the nose on your face." We need to do a self-examination before we pronounce others' condemnation. The judgment we use on others will be given back to us in the same measure on judgment day.

In regard to judging people as worthy candidates of the gospel, we need not to waste our time. Their are certain people in the world who don't appreciate the holy message of God. It seems these are the kinds of people the Lord was describing when He talked about the dogs and the swine. Don't force the gospel on those who don't want to hear it. This is a kind of judgment we need to make.

Jesus also tells us to be confident in prayer (7-11). Remember the Sure deoderant commercials? The people who didn't use Sure couldn't hold their hands very high. We don't need to be like this when we pray. Jesus employs words of action (ask, seek, knock). If we are confident in prayer, we will approach God with our petitions. However, Jesus does not tell us we'll receive everything for which we ask. He emphasizes needs to be met, hence the part about food. James 4:3 tells us that we don't receive certain things from our prayers because we ask with the wrong motives, for our own pleasures. If we are confident in prayer, the Lord will reward us.

Jesus tells us to be considerate of others (12). Some people don't get the golden rule. In an old episode of the Honeymooners, Ralph and Norton were having a conversation about Norton grabbing the bigger of two baked potatoes. Norton didn't ask Ralph which one he wanted, and Ralph got upset about it. Norton asked Ralph which potato would he haven taken, and Ralph replied the smaller one. Norton asked Ralph why he was complaining because he got the one he wanted. Jesus wants us to treat others the way we want to be treated. Parallel passages addressing loving our neighbor as ourself confirm the necessity of this in Mk. 12:28-31 and Gal. 5:14. If we want to be treated a certain way, make sure we treat others that way.

Before we act a certain way, we need to remember what will happen in return!

Conner's First Turkey Hunt

I told Conner this morning that we would go turkey hunting when I returned from work this afternoon. I decided to swing by my spot before I came home to see if there were any birds out in view, and sure enough there were some gobblers out strutting. I backed my vehicle up and headed to the house. After returning home, I was trying to get everything together and get Conner in his camo.

We were back on the road about ten minutes after four headed for the turkey woods, knowing the turkeys should still be there. After pulling up in the car where I had seen them last, they were still in the same spot, some fifty minutes after I saw them before I came home. I pulled the car back down out of sight, and we proceeded to slip up to a big red oak tree and catch a glimpse of the action.

There were three toms strutting, so I assumed there were some hens nearby. I couldn't see them, so I tried some action on the box call, but I couldn't get a response. I don't know how long we sat there, but it seemed like forever. The hens finally came our way, but they wouldn't come close enough for the gobblers to follow. They got out to about fifty yards behind some brush, and they turned around to follow the hens down the hill. I don't know how many times I had to tell Conner not to move, but those are teachable moments.

It was then I knew we had to go to plan B. That consisted of sneaking through the woods to try and cut them off where I knew they might be roosting. I knew it would be a challenge, especially having Conner with me, but we made our way through the forest, making all kinds of noise. We worked our way up to the rise overlooking the field where I could get a good view and shoot if they came our way. We saw the birds, but I was afraid they had seen us. I just knew we were going to get busted, but we didn't.

The birds eventually worked their way toward us, and they needed to stick their heads through an opening for me to get the best shot at one of the three gobblers. Wouldn't you know the gobblers came up just about to where they needed to be then they turned around. I thought, great, this cannot be happening. Looking through some brush, I knew I might be able to get a shot off if I shifted my gun to the right. It was a shot in the dark, but it just might work. I shifted around, and the turkeys didn't even see me. Let's just say I didn't give Conner time enough to put his fingers in his ears as he was laying just behind me to my left on his stomach. He truly had a "bird's eye view!"

He told me after I shot that it was awesome and I made a great shot. Great encouragement from a four-year old. This is a memory I will never forget. We had our turkey after chasing those birds for two hours and fifteen minutes. 6:45 p.m. was the time to hammer down tonight, and we had our bird. Congratulations, Conner. Patience and careful stalking pays off again, as my Dad, Foster Butt, would say!