The four gospels of the New Testament tell the story of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, coming into our world.  The Gospels tell how Jesus touched so many people in so many different ways. Like a stone tossed into a still pond on a summer day, He became the splash that started the ripples of a Spiritual Kingdom that not only effected the people then, but those ripples continue to this day and on into eternity.

Luke 2:8

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:and they were sore afraid.

Matthew 2:10

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy

At the beginning, His splash touched the shepherds who were working men out in a field doing what they did every day.  They were watching and protecting their sheep when suddenly the sky opened up with an angelic host announcing His birth. Next were the wise men that came from Persia seeking a king.  Their sign of His birth did not come from angels, but from studying God’s creation and watching and waiting for a sign in the sky. They patiently anticipated the event, then as His star arose they set on their way.

Matthew 4:19

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

When Jesus started His ministry, the splash would effect twelve individual men that He personally called by simply saying “come, follow me”.  Men that were involved in life, through their professions, working in their communities.  Each one, when asked, had a decision to make; to leave the known for the unknown. Jesus began to pour His life and teaching into them on a day-to-day bases.  These were the men that He would be depending on to continue building His spiritual kingdom on this earth.  Out of these twelve, he chose three to go with Him to the top of a mountain where He would be transfigured before them.  Then, out of those three, there was one that was called “the disciple whom Jesus loved”.

Matthew 19:21

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

As Jesus chose where and who the ripples of His splash would effect, he touched and healed many while challenging each person He encountered to consider higher possibilities than this physical world.  The rich young ruler was challenged to give all he had.  The prostitute, not being condemned, was challenged to be free and to sin no more. Each “chance” meeting became life changing, through acceptance or rejection. No one left Jesus’ presence without being challenged or changed.

Luke 19:45

Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers. ’

Jesus had enemies and He made more enemies,  like the money changers in the temple. Jesus, who had shown so much grace and mercy to an adulterous Samaritan women at the well, became angry, turning over the tables of those selling merchandise, for supposed religious reasons in the temple. The priest and religious leaders of the day also became His enemies, He called them names like evil and vipers, comparing them to snakes.  He told parables where they were portrayed as non-caring, putting their religious beliefs above their compassion, only using religion as power so they could lord over others.

Luke 10:11

But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.

In the summer Jesus chose seventy-two workers to go out two-by-two to preach, teach and heal.  He commissioned them with His power and authority.  He gave them instructions to take only the clothes on their backs and to go only where they were accepted and not to go where they were rejected or not treated well. If they were rejected, they should shake the dust off their feet and move on.

Mathew 14:21

The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Other ripples of His touch were with crowds of everyday people coming out to see Him.   Some probably came out of curiosity, some to see Him perform miracles, others maybe out of a sincere desire to learn.  As He went about teaching, these crowds grew until they had reached over five thousand men, not including women and children.  These crowds needed both spiritual food and physical food.  Then, as we follow the story on as it continues to His death, the crowds fall back into the shadows and it leaves only Jesus and the twelve.  Then Jesus is betrayed and it becomes eleven.  When He is arrested, there are none.

Acts 1:4

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

After his resurrection and ascension,  we read about the feast of Pentecost where there are one hundred and twenty that followed His last wishes by going to Jerusalem and waiting.  They were in an upper room praying and fellowshipping in one mind and one accord until the feast day began, then God’s Spirit fell and gave empowerment that would establish His Kingdom on this earth forever.

Matthew 22:14

“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Jesus’ original splash and the ripples that followed are still felt today. If we consider ourselves in His story, where do we fit in?  Are we like the shepherds, surprised when angels show up at our work place, telling us about Jesus?  Or, are we like the wise men, looking in God’s creation for signs of a returning Messiah? Maybe we are caught up in some of life’s “too much’s” to realize we need to give something up in order to live for a much greater cause.  Maybe our sin has caught up with us and we need His grace and compassion to “go and sin no more.”. We all come to Jesus under different circumstances, so it is not necessarily how we encounter Him, but our reaction to that encounter, that matters.  Do we hear His voice and follow or do we simply ignore or reject His calling and go our own way?

Sometimes we play religion on Sunday so we can feel better about ourselves on Monday.  We get caught up being in the crowd of the five thousand, always looking to see what’s in it for us.  We look to the church service for entertainment, always needing to be fed, failing to stop and think of giving back or committing to His cause.  When we find ourselves in need, we pray for our three wishes, not wanting any strings attached to our attitude, lifestyle or service.  We have enemies not because we are standing up for His Kingdom, but for our own.  We do not turn any tables over because we are afraid we might offend someone.

Mathew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

If we really want to find Jesus, we have to separate from the convenient crowd and do the will of the Father.  Like the seventy two that was sent, or the one hundred and twenty, we have to be dependable and reliable, to go out with each other in His name; feeding the poor, praying for the sick, preaching the gospel of the kingdom; not only in word, but also in deed.  As we continue in our pursuit of this Water from His splash,  we may find ourselves among the twelve following His every move, willing to lose it all for His sake.  We may follow Him up the mountain, to the point of being transfigured, thus allowing so much of His love to pour through us, that the people in our lives stop seeing us and begin to see the ripple of His kingdom showing through us.

Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

Through God’s Holy Spirit , Jesus walks among us today saying “come follow me.”. It is our choice to what degree we accept.

In discussing with a friend the other day some of the ideas of “political correctness” that have so crippled our nation, we were talking about what some people believe will lead them to Heaven. As we were discussing this idea, I quoted John 14:6 when Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” . At the end of my quote I was going to be polite and say something like “That narrows the opportunity down for a lot of people in this world”, but before I could get that sentence out, my friend said “anything else is just hogwash!”

Luke 2:1

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

Matthew 2:1

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod,…

Jesus was born during a time that Judea was under the rule of the Roman government. The Romans had came to Judea to help them end the Maccabean war with the Seleucid empire. The Jews had wanted the Romans help, but did not want Rome. During the time of Jesus they were looking for a Messiah that would come and deliver them out of Roman rule. The Romans were considered Gentiles and they lived under a different set of laws than the Jews. They did not have the same structure to their society, nor did they follow the same dietary laws. The Jews did, however; put up with the Romans when it came to political pandering or money padding their pockets, but they detested the taxes they had to pay to Caesar and they despised his rules.

Luke 8:26

They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town.

In three of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the writers tell a story of Jesus going over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to the Garasenes. There he meets a man that is demon possessed. There are several interesting things that happen at this point that give us insight into demonic possession along with end-time events. Although, as with most stories about Jesus, this one leaves us with more questions than answers.

Luke 8:28

When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

The man is described as having no clothes on and having lived near the tombs. As Jesus approached him he yelled out “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” Jesus ask him “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. Then the demons begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them into the Abyss.  There was a herd of 2000 pigs close by, so the demons begged Jesus to allow them to go into the pigs. All Jesus said was “Go” and the demons went into the pigs. Then the pigs ran into the Sea of Galilee and drowned. The man that was possessed put on clothes and sat down at Jesus’ feet in his right mind. Seeing what had happened, the people of Garasene showed up and asked Jesus to leave and not come back.

Deuteronomy 29:8

We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half- tribe of Manasseh.

When Israel entered this land originally, this area was given partly to the tribe of Manassa and partly to the tribe of Gad. So, besides some of the hard questions we have for this story, such as: Why did the demons want to go into the pigs and why then did the pigs run into the water and drown, I believe there are some questions a lot more simple and down to earth  that we need to consider. Why, if pigs were considered unclean to the Jews, would there be 2000 of them? Why would anyone raise unclean animals where they were not needed?

Luke 8:37

Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

When Jesus confronts the man he gives his name as “Legion” which is a reference to the Romans and is a military term that means 5000 shoulders. He allowed the demons to go into the unclean animals that were out of place. The pigs then drowned, bringing the towns people out to ask Jesus to leave. The people seemed unconcerned that the former demon possessed man was now fully clothed and in his right mind. All they saw was the dollar signs of lost profits in the drowned pigs.

Matthew 13:22

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus talks about the Word of God that comes to our lives, but because we have so many other interests, it gets choked out. We, like the Gerasenes allow the pigs in our lives to become more important than Jesus. His statement to Israel in delivering this demon possessed man (Legion) was; if you really want to be rid of the Romans, why are you taking their money and feeding them Barbecue? His statement to us is this; If you really want Me to rid the demons from your life, you need to get rid of your pigs.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the whole [duty] of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

I looked up the term “hogwash” it literally means the water that runs off the hog after you wash it. So I’m thinking, what would be the purpose of washing a hog? Everything we do that takes our eyes off of Jesus Christ ends up being just hogwash.

There is a standard joke about a man that slipped and fell off the edge of a mountain.  After the fall he grabs hold of a limb on his way down. He is still a long way from the bottom and the limb begins to break. He yells out in desperation “is there anybody up there that can help?”   A deep voice comes back “yes, let go of the limb.”   The man thinks a little while and yells out “is there anybody else up there?”

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The Bible, as a whole, uses the first-mention method of introducing a subject, idea or principle. The author (Holy Spirit speaking through men) introduces a subject by first the mention, sometimes with very limited information, then, at a later point, will fill in a few more pieces of the puzzle. If you continue to read and study the Bible from cover to cover and pay close attention to any one subject, it will eventually crescendo at some point, and you will learn all the Word has to say about it. In the first sentence of the first book God is introduced with no information other than He created everything. As we follow the story of Genesis, we find out more about His characteristics.

Psalms 111:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

There is a difference in knowing a lot about God and knowing God. The God of the Bible is not only our Creator, He wants to be in fellowship with us and be our God. As we grow in our relationship, we lean more about Him. Life experiences create opportunities for us get to know our God better. As we pray and become familiar with the Bible, we gain faith and begin to understand the idea of trust. Faith and trust are some of the key ingredients to any relationship.

James 2:23

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Then, when life hits suddenly, in those sink or swim moments, we start to wonder if we have made the right Friend. It is in those moments we have a choice.  Do we rely on God or our own strength?  If we are to take this journey in Wisdom, we have to step back and ask ourselves what is God trying to teach us? What do we need to learn about God and ourselves? It takes patience, along with an open mind, to consider going to the next level in our relationship with God. We have to look through His eyes to see a bigger picture. As we experience life, hear a new sermon or read more scripture, we continue in the process of developing our understanding of God. This is a cycle for life, of those truly seeking wisdom.

John 4:19

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

The first question the Samaritan woman at the well asked Jesus (once she perceived Him to be a prophet) was which mountain was the right mountain to worship on. This seems totally foreign to our way of thinking. How could this be relevant? The answer goes back several hundred years earlier. Without going into a long study, I will try and give a brief history. After King Solomon died, the kingdom of Israel was split. The northern kingdom “Israel” and the southern kingdom “Judah”. The northern kingdom did not want their citizens traveling to Jerusalem three times a year to worship, as was required in Jewish law, so the King of Israel set up another place to worship and created different feasts that mirrored the ones God had laid out for Moses. In essence, to solve the problem of two kingdoms, the northern king simply created a new religion. Later, because of the northern kingdom’s evil ways, they were taken captive by the Assyrians. The Assyrians displaced Israel (Jews) with Assyrian (Gentiles). The new Gentile inhabitants mingled their worship into this already false religion which created even more confusion, so add to that foundation, 700 years of false worship and meaningless traditions. Now the Samaritans (Assyrian/Jews) were lead to believe that the only true worship of God could be on Mt. Gerizem. They believed that the Jews in Judah had it all wrong because they worshiped in Jerusalem on Mount Mariah (the Temple Mount).

Luke 9:51

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.

The reason Jesus was not welcomed back in this Samaritan village was because of the original question asked by the woman at the well, as to which mountain was the right mountain? In reality it was not “which mountain” that was in question it was “which god”. The Samaritan woman and the Samaritans wanted Jesus to authenticate their beliefs as being correct. By Jesus heading to Jerusalem, he was answering their question and would not be affirming their false religion. Their whole religion was made up of facts that were not based on Scripture. They were waiting on a Messiah that was made up, and matched their man-made hopes and beliefs.

John 4:23

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

The problem is this, as we start learning about God, we tend to take what we like and leave out the hard stuff. We usually base our idea of God on what the church, and other sources of influence have told us. We start knowing a lot about God. The Samaritan woman knew about a Messiah that would come, she knew about worship, she knew about God but did not know God. Once she met Jesus face to face, it was a brand new experience.

Matthew 11:28

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

We sometimes pick out our own mountains to worship on, and make up our own rules to fit God in. The mountains we pick allow us to ease our conscience with sacrifices that are convenient, and allow us to check off our list of weekly commitments in a ho hum kind of way. Sometimes our messiah is one that we use like a rabbits foot or a four-leaf clover. We just need Him when we want to make a wish.

John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The God that is not man-made is worshipped in Spirit and in Truth. Spirit being heart-felt like Jeremiah 20:9 states…. “But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones”, we need a passion for God’s Word that cannot be extinguished. Truth that cuts deep in our soul, like Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,” We need to not only know about God, we need a Face-to-face encounter.

I believe, even if we have the greatest mind and the greatest faith, we can never fully comprehend God or totally understand His ways. Yet, there are those that never seek or stop seeking when His ways becomes too hard. As we Journey in Wisdom, if we are to follow the right path, our foundation has to be His Word, the Bible. We have to look at our circumstances through God’s eyes, following His ways, we have to “let go of the limb”.

When my daughter was in high school, she was scheduled through our church youth group to go to Birmingham to work at a soup kitchen to help feed the homeless for a day as a mission project.  She was very nervous and apprehensive.  Being raised in rural Alabama, she had only seen the homeless at a distance or on TV.  She asked me if she should go.  I told her the homeless were “just folks” created by God and in need Jesus, just like you and me.  They have the same feelings and put on their clothes, just like we do. The only difference is they have lost their way and need a kind hand and heart to help them.

” I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Martin Luther King

Have you ever noticed that there is always a people that are on the list to be undesirable? I was three years old when this speech was given in Washington DC.   Martin Luther King stood up for a movement against a nation that had allowed an attitude of injustice against a whole race of individuals.  I remember hearing some of the slang from people that detested the movement that Dr. King stood for.  I remember singing in church:

” Jesus loves the little children

All the children of the world,

Red and yellow, black and white,

they are precious in His sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world”.

I remember thinking maybe God stops loving them when they grow up and are no longer little children yet, John 3:16 states God loved the whole world.  I heard stories from older generations that fought in WWII using slang for the Germans or the Japanese.  Then, also from the Korean and Vietnam wars I heard more slang.  I have heard different slang used for all races of people. I have noticed people from different era’s speak of hate for different countries, races or nationalities; for whatever reason.

Mark 2:2  

So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and He preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

In the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man, Jesus is in a building of standing room only.  The story tells of a paralyzed man that needed healing.  His friends were so intent on getting him to Jesus that they take him up on the roof, create a hole and lower him down.  The story only refers to the man as “the paralyzed man or the paralytic” then when the man is lowered, as he gets close, Jesus calls him “son”.

Matthew 19:19

…‘love your neighbor as yourself. ’

Whether we would like to admit it or not, we live in a divided world.  Religiously, we are divided by denominations and beliefs.  Socially, we are divided by wealth or lack of.  Politically, we are divided by age, skin color, gender, ideas and political party.  Growing up in the era of the Cold War, I was lead to believe that the people on the other side of the “iron curtain” hated the people on this side.  But, then in 1989 when the Berlin wall fell, nothing happened except the unification of Germany.  So, for years the wall was there separating both worlds for…what purpose? When we maintain the “us and them” mentality and consider other groups or denominations as “not like us” or unworthy, stupid, or lower class, then it separates us from our purpose.

Matthew 25:37

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

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

I think if the adversary can divide us through the guise of religious denominations, and use political and world leaders to do similar, then we are being torn apart and pitted against each other for a reason.

First they came for the socialists,

and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,

and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me,

and there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemöller

In order to look through God’s eyes, we have to look at people as individuals.  Not black or white, red or yellow, union or non-union, but people.  When we get to know them as individuals, we find out they have the same needs as us: love, family, security and a place to call home.  I think when everything is said and done, we are all created by God for a purpose.  Our nationality, race and ethnic group is our badge of honor that is an important part of who we are.  We should not allow anyone to tell us we are less than another group, nor should we allow anyone to tell us we are better.

“Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us”.

Golda Meir

We define people by what we call them.  If we can dehumanize them, it makes us feel better about hating them or not treating them like God would want us to.  The paralyzed man was defined by what his friends and the crowd called him.  Jesus did not define him by his affliction, He defined him by his purpose, He called him “son”. When my daughter returned from her mission trip,  I asked her how it went.  She responded “You were right. They are ‘just folks’ like you and me”.

“The truth is, I didn’t see anything of myself in my father, and I don’t think he saw anything of himself in me. We were just strangers who knew each other very well”.

Quote from the movie “Big Fish” by Daniel Wallace

My father would have been 78 years old this month. The relationship of fathers and sons is timeless. Each one is unique. The father is the first person the son challenges for manhood. Whether it is wrestling in the floor or running a race, the son is looking for affirmation from his father that he is a man. When I was growing up in the 1960’s, it was a different time than now. I did not have an opinion, my opinion was my father’s. The choice of music, the choice of hairstyle was that of my father. I do not want to give any impression that I did not love and respect my father. I did love him and have always had the utmost respect for him. We just did not have the same ideas when it came to life, and, since I was the son, we just went with his.

Music was my father.  He learned the guitar at a young age playing in church. I remember when I was around 6 years old, my father stood me in a metal folding chair in front of the church. My sister stood beside me. Our father played a 1942 000-28 Martin acoustic guitar. I remember as we sang I was looking around. Somehow my father touched me with his finger while playing. This let me know I was not supposed to be looking around. A light touch was all the communication I needed to start paying closer attention.

As I got older, our family traveled and sang at many churches for miles around, every week-end and sometimes twice on Sundays. My father sang and played guitar, my mother played the piano, my sister sang and played saxophone, her husband sang and played trumpet, and I sang and played trumpet. We got booking after booking from homecomings to benefit singings. We had our equipment, guitars and sound system loaded in the back camper of our Ford pickup. We would get to the church where we were singing at, my father would back up to the closest steps and we would unload and set up. We would sing, break it back down again with everyone knowing their part of what had to be done. This went on for several years.  We were told we enjoyed it.

In the early 70’s, my father told us about an appointment to sing at a church in Mobile. We were excited to travel outside our normal sphere of churches. That Sunday morning the pastor of that church (a long-time friend of my father’s) introduced our family, then added that my father would be delivering the morning message. We were shocked.  My father had not told us, but he felt God was asking him to become a minister. My father delivered a short sermon titled “Andrew for Christ.”

Recently, I talked to my sister and she said that she had found the original outline of this sermon.  My father always kept his sermons in outline form in his own handwriting . There are hundreds left from his 30 plus years of ministry.  The following is from that original outline:

“Andrew For Christ”,  Harold Gamblin

Everyone wants to do something great. It is within each person to want to achieve something in their life but not everyone can achieve greatness or be in the spotlight. We should pattern our lives after the disciple, Andrew.

Andrew was the first disciple to be called then the first thing he did was go find his brother, Simon Peter. More was written about Simon Peter than any other disciple. Peter was called the rock. He was the disciple that had the faith to get out of the boat to attempt to walk on water. Simon Peter preached on the day of Pentecost where 3,000 people were saved. He also carried the gospel to the Gentiles through Cornelius in Acts 10. Andrew stood in the shadows, but had he not went to find his brother, Simon Peter, the story could be different.

God told us to be faithful, not successful.  Mathew 25:21 states if we will be faithful over a few things, God will make us rulers over many things. The great commission tells us to go and preach.  It does not say we will win the world, or even one sinner, but we are just to go.

Andrew brought Peter and others to Christ by simply sharing what he had heard. Andrew found the boy with five small barley loves and two fish that Jesus used to feed the 5,000. How many lads in our community are willing to give small things that will turn into big things once God multiplies them? We should not underestimate the little things. In John 12:20 there are some Greeks that want to see Jesus, Philip goes to Andrew who then facilitates the visit.  We should all be like Andrew, knowing how to find Jesus.

The widow gave her mite. The lad gave his lunch.  We all have something we can give.

The commission has been given. We must put forth the effort, and the mission will be accomplished. A lot of the works of God started out small. He uses our weakness for His strength. Every cross-tie on the railroad was once a tree, but each one laid in the ground comes together to create the foundation for tracks that cross the world.

Andrew went from a fishermen to Christ’s apostle just by being there and finding small resources. President Lincoln went from humble beginnings, being born in Kentucky, to leading the nation during one of the worst times in history and he saved the union.

The Pearl of Great Price is a story about a small pearl that has great value.

D. L. Moody, founder of Moody Bible Institute, was led to accept salvation in a shoe store by his Sunday school teacher.  Fanny Crosby, blinded at a very young age, took what she had and wrote over 8,000 church hymns.

Being an “Andrew For Christ” is taking the small things we have and letting God use them for a mighty purpose.

Looking back on my father’s life, he was truly an “Andrew For Christ”  He was one of the few people I know that heard the call of God, sold everything he had, and followed that call wherever it lead. There will be a Holy Host of people wake up in heaven because of the Gospel that went forth from his words and actions. I believe my father lived everything he taught. I count myself truly blessed to be raised by a great man of God.

A quiet man of music

Denied a simpler fate

He tried to be a soldier once

But his music wouldn’t wait

He earned his love through discipline

A thundering, velvet hand

His gentle means of sculpting souls

Took me years to understand

 The leader of the band is tired

And his eyes are growing old

But his blood runs through my instrument And his song is in my soul My life has been a poor attempt To imitate the man I’m just a living legacy To the leader of the band.

Dan Fogelberg “Leader Of The Band”