GOD AND THE DAD-LECTURE (lessons from the end of Exodus 15)

Blogging  Exodus 15: 25-27

 ²⁵ So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, ²⁶ and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

Upon reflection I realized that I when I give my children money it usually comes with a lecture.  Here’s the script:   Here’s $____ .  It’s yours.  Spend it how you want, BUT you know you need ____ and _____ is coming up; so you might wanna _____ first and make sure you ____.  Don’t go and _____ cause you won’t have anything left to _____ and when you can’t  _____ , don’t come running to me asking for another $_____ because you have money to handle your business, right?  O.K.

I can tell that gets on my kids nerves.  I don’t care.  But I can tell.

I bet God can tell, too; cause He does the same thing with His children.

In Exodus chapter 15, the Lord  performed a mighty miracle at the waters of Marah. He transformed the chemical composition of a poisoned spring and saved the escaped Hebrew slaves from death by thirst in the desert.  He gave them sweet water out of a bitter spring.

But before they left Marah, He also gave them a lecture.

. . . the waters were made sweet [, and there] He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them (Exodus 15: 25).

A statute and/or ordinance is a rule, a codified restriction or requirement made part of the law.  We aren’t told what this law was, but we are told why this law was.  It was a test case. 

Before He gave them the Law, before even the 10 Commandments, God wanted to see if these people, this prenatal nation could handle living by God’s rules. 

The lecture I give my kids when I give them money is a test ---- and a plea.  I need to see if they will make responsible choices.  I WANT to see that they will make responsible choices because I want to give them more responsibility, more freedom, and more opportunities for (yes) money.  My lectures are the daddy way I beg them to please do the right thing here, kid, cause there’s more where this came from.   More lectures for sure, but also more blessings.

“If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you (Exodus 15:26).

The God of the Bible has a LOT of rules:  how you have to  treat people, who you should love, who you should forgive, how you should handle your money, who you can have sex with . . . a lot of rules.  But each of those rules is actually a plea.  Every “thou shalt” or “thou shalt not” is God saying “Please, please, please, my child.  Show Me that you can responsibly handle this part of the miracle that is your life because I want to bless you with more authority, more power, and more opportunity to grow and to succeed.”

After refreshing Israel at Marah’s one spring, God gave His people a statute and ordinance as a test.  They kept that test-case rule.  And so,  God brought them not to another single spring with a log next to it,  but Then they came to Elim, where there were TWELVE WELLS of water and SEVENTY PALM TREES; so they camped there by the waters.

If you ever feel like God is holding you back with warnings and slowing you down with lessons, take a breath.  It’s all right.  Your Heavenly Father isn’t trying to keep you from enjoying the present.    He is trying to position you for the greater blessings He has in store.

  

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Bailey Tabernacle CME Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He writes the popular blog: A Word to the Wise at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com

Email: BaileyTabernacleChurch@comcast.net

Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

Follow me on twitter @AndersonTGraves 

Click here to support this ministry with a donation.  Or go to andersontgraves.blogspot.com and click on the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar. 

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Bailey Tabernacle CME Church

1117 23rd Avenue
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401

I couldn't work this into the blog post, but #Mrlegendarius 

THE PRICE OF FAVORITISM

Blogging Genesis 27 - 28: 9

 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered him, “Here I am.”

² Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. ³ Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. ⁴ And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

Isaac wasn’t exactly on his deathbed, but he was making his last will and testament known while he was still able to do so.  He probably learned the need for good advance planning from  his father Abraham’s experience making funeral arrangements for his wife (Genesis 23).

Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. . . (Genesis 27:5).

It’s possible that Rebekah was coincidentally passing by when she heard the exchange between Isaac and Esau.  It’s also possible she was eavesdropping like her mother-in-law had done (Genesis 18:10).  But, considering that Isaac was blind and Rebekah would’ve been his chief caregiver, it’s most likely that mother Rebekah was present as a witness to Isaac’s plans to declare Esau’s inheritance.

Isaac trusted Rebekah, expecting her to fulfill the role of the dutiful wife not to assert her own plan for the inheritance but he underestimated his wife.  (Underestimating women is a recurring theme throughout the Bible.)   Rebekah had her own plans (Genesis 27:6 - 17).

If you read verses 6-17, you have to  appreciate the tactical complexity of Rebekah’s arrangements: Goats.  Not sheep or cattle because the fur had to be of a specific texture.  Kid goats.  Not adults because the meat would be more tender and the hairs would be finer and closer to the texture on Esau’s body.   Two kid goats, not one because one wouldn’t supply enough fur to cover all Jacob’s upper body.

The goats had to be killed, cleaned, skinned, and cooked.  That would take hours.  Cleaning, preparing, and sewing the hides into form- fitting gloves and a sleeved turtleneck:  that would take many more hours, maybe days.   The process would have involved a large pile of supplies, multiple work stations, and a small army of servants skilled in cooking, tanning and sewing who were all absolutely loyal to Rebekah.  And, all of this had to get done in less time than it would take Esau to complete a hunt at that particular time of year in that particular terrain.  

The logistics indicate that Rebekah had planned and prepared for this specific contingency, and since she didn’t foreknow this specific situation we can infer that Rebekah had multiple plans for multiple scenarios to make sure her favorite son received the greater inheritance.

Isaac, Esau, and Jacob never stood a chance.

As you examine the scene of Jacob in full Esau costume lying to his old, blind father, keep in mind that the whole sad, complicated performance in Genesis 27 was unnecessary.

A) Jacob shouldn’t have and shouldn’t have had to lie about being the firstborn son because he was legally entitled to the firstborn’s birthright.  In Genesis 25:33, Esau sold that right to Jacob.  

And B) Before the twins were born, the Lord had declared that Jacob would dominate Esau.  With or without Isaac’s cooperation, God would have fulfilled His word.  Rebekah had heard the the stories of Sarah, Hagar, and Isaac’s older brother.  She should’ve learned that our deceptive scheming complicates rather than advances God’s plan for us.  

We do so many sad, complicated, unnecessary things.

Still,  gotta respect Rebekah’s timing.   Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. (Genesis 27:30).

But before you throw away your “I love Rebekah” t-shirts, remember verse 36.  And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

When Esau acknowledged that Jacob deserved the birthright of the firstborn, Isaac didn’t flinch --- because he already knew.  Everybody knew.   Rebekah hadn’t concocted a scheme to trick Isaac because her husband didn’t know Jacob was prophetically and legally entitled to the birthright.  Rebekah concocted a scheme to trick her husband because was going to give the birthright to Esau anyway.

Knowing that Jacob had legally and actually received the blessing of the firstborn, Esau begged his father to give him (Esau) the blessing  anyway. Isaac replied, “I have blessed [Jacob]—and indeed he shall be blessed.” (Genesis 27:33

Jacob’s blessing was irrevocable but understand why.  Isaac the sinful man who’d just tried to circumvent God’s revealed will did not have the power to issue an irrevocable blessing.  Theblessing was sealed to Jacob’s line because GOD wanted the blessing to rest upon Jacob’s line.  Remember what we learned about The “Curse” of Ham.  No man has the power to remove God’s blessing.  Esau had to settle for the lesser endorsement (Genesis 27:39, 40) only he didn’t want to settle for second place. 

So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob” (Genesis 27:41). 

Esau was a spoiled, dumb, rich jock who didn’t appreciate the privilege into which he was born until his nerdy little brother became the family favorite.

But before you order your “I hate Esau” t-shirts, remember that a son’s first love is his mother and Esau’s mother didn’t like him.  Yeah, Esau was homicidally angry at Jacob but whose idea was it really?  Mom’s.  Esau’s mother had conspired against him.  Esau’s mother had always liked Jacob better.  And even after Jacob ran away (the little coward), Esau still couldn’t make his mother happy. 

Esau even got married, like a good boy, but instead of his mother being happy at the prospect of grandkids, Rebekah’s asked, “Are you trying to kill me?”

And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?” (Genesis 27:46)

Esau wanted to please his parents, both of his parents, so badly that when he saw them happy about Jacob finding a wife from his mother’s brother Esau went looking for a wife from his father’s brother. 

Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had (Genesis 28:8, 9).

But even the criticism of Esau’s marital decisions was a ruse to get Isaac to protect Jacob (Genesis 27:42 – 28:2).  Every thing reminded Esau that his mother didn’t like his brother but not him.  Imagine how much that must have sucked!

It’s enough to give a guy “anger issues.”

Rebekah lied, compelled her youngest son to lie, and deceived her blind husband.  Isaac tried to

circumvent God’s clearly revealed will and violate his eldest son’s solemn oaths.  Jacob lied, initially at his mother’s request, but he kept up the lie through 3 opportunities to confess the truth.  And Esau tried to steal back what he’d legally sold and then conspired to murder his twin. 

All because the mama and daddy were willing to do ANYTHING for their favorite child.

Ladies and gentlemen, the “holy” family of the patriarchs.

So, man of God/ woman of God, who's your favorite?  Maybe it isn't a child. Maybe it's a spouse, a significant other, or a parent.   We quickly condemn the act of conspiring against someone, but whom are you quick to conspire FOR?  We're not even talking about scenarios of life or death, just the normal, everyday situations that give your favorite an advantage over the next kid or the next candidate.  

Would you lie to get your child into a better school?  Would you cheat to help your spouse get the job he/she wants?  Would you trip their 80 year old mom so your 70 year old dad could get to the front of the prescription drug line?   

Since it's just us talking, what WOULDN'T you  do to set your favorites up for a better life?

Genocides have been committed because a group of otherwise decent people were willing to do anything to give their favorites a better life on land somebody already owned.  Neighborhoods in America right now are war zones because a generation of young men are "just trying to feed my family."  

We blame the young generation of Esaus and Isaacs but children don't invent sins; they update and expand our sins, the sins we Isaacs and Rebekahs committed in their name.

The sins we commit for our favorites first taint, then dominate, then define the culture in which we and our favorites live.  

Add up all the lying and cheating you (or I) do for our favorites and multiply by 7.5 billion.  THAT is what's wrong with the world.  

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

Follow me on twitter @AndersonTGraves 

Click here to support this ministry with a donation.  Or go to andersontgraves.blogspot.com and click on the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 

Miles Chapel CME Church

P O Box 132

Fairfield, Al 35064

WHY IS JESUS HOMELESS?

In Malachi chapter 3, God told His people:

⁹     You are cursed with a curse,

     For you have robbed Me,

     Even this whole nation.

¹⁰     Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

     That there may be food in My house,

     And try Me now in this,”

     Says the Lord of hosts,

     “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven

     And pour out for you such blessing

     That there will not be room enough to receive it.

Wait.  Wait. Before you rehearse the same clichéd and selfish response, read it again.  Only this time, listen to what God actually said. 

WHY did God say He wants the tithe?

That there may be food in My house

Food for whom?  For you? 

Dude, you ain’t hungry.

Food for whom?  For God?

God already said: 

Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?  Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.  (Psalm 50: 13, 14)

So who’s the food in God’s house for? 

It’s for those people who don’t have food:  the needy.

This prosperity passage isn’t primarily about how to get money from God.  It’s about the church’s obligation to be a house of ministry and outreach to the least of these.  That’s the kind of house God wants.

Build the temple, build God a house, the Lord commanded in Haggai 1: 7-9.  But build Him a house in which He feels comfortable.     

Build God a house in which Jesus has what we all expect to find at home:  food, clothing, shelter, and company.

And how do we provide food, clothing, shelter, and company to God in His house?

Read Matthew chapter 25. 

^37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ^38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ^39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ^40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’  

The church is supposed to be a storehouse out of which God’s people help the needy and the lost.  The church--- a church is NOT supposed to be a showcase for our own aspirations to affluence.

We talk and sing about a Jesus who was not found with the rich and great in palaces or in the grandest temples.

But, we expend our energy and treasure building personal palaces and the grandest churches we can or cannot afford.

We lament how few people find Jesus when we preach and worship in those expensive places.

But we talk about and sing about how Jesus WAS FOUND with the poor and the sick, the lowly and the sinners, NOT among the rich and powerful and self-righteous.

So, maybe it would be easier to for them to find Jesus where we are if we built more homeless shelters instead of larger sanctuaries.

Maybe Jesus would be found in our fellowship halls if we used them to feed the hungry instead of ourselves.

Maybe the reason people can’t find Jesus in the churches we build is that we didn’t really erect them for God.  

We bought the places for us.

Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head because the houses we’ve built in His name are places where He doesn’t feel welcome.

The reason so many churches can’t cover their overhead is that we’ve built houses in Jesus' name but left Jesus outside and homeless, and God has gotten tired of paying for houses in which He doesn’t feel welcome.

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Luke 9: 58)

So if we want God to

open for you the windows of heaven

And pour out for you such blessing

That there will not be room enough to receive it.

Then we should repurpose our buildings to make Jesus feel more comfortable in all of his homeless, hungry, needy, incarcerated, sick, and impoverished glory.

Then Jesus would come on in; and the lost would be able to find Him where we are.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church (5220 Myron Massey Boulevard) in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to  

Miles Chapel CME Church

P O Box 132

Fairfield, Al 35064

BIRTHRIGHTS, BLESSINGS, & BURDENS

What does it mean when someone says, “I’m trying to ‘find myself’ “?  Sometimes we treat the statement as a joke, a clichéd cover for irresponsibility. But, “finding yourself” is a deep and important task for every individual and every church.  But still, what does it mean to find yourself?

These were the questions God placed on my heart on my first Sunday as pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama.  The answers are important for all of us, wherever we worship. 

The message is called: BIRTHRIGHTS, BLESSINGS, & BURDENS.

Listen well.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

You can help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 

Miles Chapel CME Church

5220 Myron Massey Boulevard

Fairfield, AL 35064

: GROW UP AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE

How can you be a child of God and yet walk in such weakness and brokenness and lack of blessing?  How do you access all of the blessings promised to children of God.

Find out in a  Youth Sunday sermon for youth and adults alike.  The sermon is called: GROW UP AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Listen well.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer, and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church and the executive director of SAYNO (Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization) in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

You can help support this Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.

Or send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail should be addressed to:
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

CAN GOD TRUST YOU WITH HIS FAVORITE?

Most people have a favorite something---- an outfit, a gadget, maybe a heirloom, or even a pet.  Whatever it is, you don’t let just anybody keep it.  They’d have to be someone very special, someone you can really trust.

So what does it mean that God entrusted two people---- Mary and Joseph with His favorite, His Son Jesus?

The answer reveals the principles to opening the door to God’s greatest blessing for you, your family, and your community.

Hear a message called CAN GOD TRUST YOU WITH HIS FAVORITE?

Listen well.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer, and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church and the executive director of SAYNO (Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization) in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com.

If you enjoy our work, please help support our work in the community. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.

Mail all contributions to:
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

A Whisper and a Nudge

Sometimes it’s what people say that makes you stop and listen more closely.  Sometimes it’s how they say it. 

The same thing is true about God.

1 Samuel 9: 15     Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16     “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”

17     So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” (New King James Version)

It was the wording of verse 15 that made stop and re-read this morning.  …the Lord had told Samuel in his ear…    Of course not every translation uses this exact phrasing.  You could say simply that the Lord told, said, or revealed to; but the word in the original language means to uncover the ear.

So the right image to have in your mind is of God leaning down, cupping His hand around Samuel’s ear, and whispering, “Don’t worry, Sammy.  In about twenty-four hours, I’m going to send you guys some help.”

And then.  The next day as Saul (who doesn’t know about any of this) is wandering past, God nudges Samuel in the ribs and whispers, “Pssst.  Sammmy, that’s  him.  That’s the guy I was telling you about yesterday.  That’s the one who’s going to help you.”

Now, imagine God leaning down, cupping His hand around your ear, and whispering to you in a still, small, voice.   Imagine the Lord standing by you, gently nudging you as your blessing passes by,  even when the bearer of the blessing doesn’t know why they’re there.   We know Biblically that God does that, but are you sensitized to God’s whispering voice in your ear?    

Sure, you can hear a prophetic word when it’s declared from a pulpit.  Of course you notice great healing and miraculous provision.   Thunder and lightning, tongues, and dreams, and all spectacular forms of revelation:  you know about those. 

But what about the soft whispers?  What about the gentle nudges?

How many blessings have you missed because you weren’t used to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit?  How many more blessings will walk right past you because you shrug off God’s little nudge in your side?
Learn to hear Him in the quiet times when you’re not even asking for anything in particular.  Learn to feel His touch when you’re not begging for a healing hand.  Over time you’ll be able to hear His whisper even when everyone else around you is screaming.  And then, you won’t have to miss any more blessings.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

BLESSING AT THE SCHOOL INTERSECTION

At certain times in my life, God has positioned me with a particularly gifted group of people who are only together in a certain place for a limited time.  Those intersections of person, place, and anointing teach you things about your work and yourself that you could not have learned any other way.
 
I like to think that those intersections happen for all of us.  I know that when they happen we often don’t realize how special the moment was until it’s passed.

This past Friday night I realized that I had been at such an intersection, ironically in a context that supposedly excludes God.

Friday night, the youth praise dance team of the church I pastor performed before a packed house at the most powerful youth worship service I’ve ever been a part of.  The worship was at Anointed Remnant International Ministries, which is pastored by Rev. Willie Bradley.  I worked with Pastor Bradley/ Lt. Col. Bradley  when he was commander of the JROTC unit at Stanhope Elmore High School.

The youth conference was sponsored by the Gateway Youth Initiative, a ministry of the church pastored by Rev. Emmett Johnson.  I worked with Rev. Johnson/ Sgt. Major Johnson when he was JROTC instructor at SEHS prior to Pastor Bradley.

The M.C. for the youth conference was a young brother named Jhae Ray.  Brother Ray was my office aid while I was assistant principal at Stanhope Elmore High School.

The offering was blessed by a young minister named Damian Williams, who was a student while I was A.P. at SEHS.

The praise team that led devotion included 2 other graduates from my time as A.P. at SEHS.

The adult praise team of the host church was led by a man my wife taught at Carver High School.  His wife, one of the lead singers of the praise group, was my student at Carver Jr. High School. 

As youth choirs, soloists, praise teams, and youth preachers came forward to minister in an evening of mind blowing praise, prayer, and petition, I saw student after student and graduate after graduate who love Jesus with all their hearts and are deeply and dynamically engaged in the work of their churches.

We complain sometimes about the government taking God out of the schools, but I don’t think God ever actually left.  

I think that a lot of people in our schools stopped talking to God, but He never stopped being there.  

All the while some of us have been acting as if God was gone from public education, God has continued to work with and work on those of us who still seek him at school.  All the while God has continued to save, anoint, call, and commission students and educators to serve Him in magnificent ways.

I realize now how blessed I have been to walk the educational halls I’ve walked.  I see a little more clearly that Holy Spirit filled Christians in the public school system are not the powerless, nearly extinct species that we thought they were. 

I don’t quite understand it all yet, but I do see that those intersections inside the public school were more than progressions in a professional career.  They were Divine appointments as part of an eternal agenda. 

It’s not “just” school.  It’s an intersection of God’s people involved in God’s agenda.

I’ll remember that.

You, remember that.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a pastor, writer, community organizer and consultant for education and ministry.

Call him at 334-288-0577
Email him at atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend Anderson at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme@blogspotcom If you want to be a blessing to this ministry, contributions may be made by check or money order.

Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116