Some Can See Him....Some Can't

Micah 5:2
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.

He wasn't born in a palace, surrounded by servants to meet his every need.
His birth wasn't proclaimed throughout the land by royal heralds.
His parents didn't occupy any ruling position in the government.
Yet He grew to be the only one who could defeat sin, death, hell and the grave.

He came for every man and woman. King or pauper....Queen or whore...because He knew that "All had sinned and fallen short of His Father's glory."
But the way He came to this world is still a mystery.
Plainly spoken of and written about in the ancient Scriptures....the religious rulers of the day could not see the truth. In the passage above from Micah, not only is the town given where Jesus would be born, but the location within the town.....Ephrathah. That's like saying that Jesus will be born in Gadsden, Alabama over in mill village in Alabama city. But they couldn't see it.

Who saw such prophecy?
The Magi......the wisemen...those who studied the heaven's and saw THE star that would lead them to the place where Mary, Joseph, and the Christ child lived.
A group of shepherd's huddled together on a hillside in the dark of night. They never expected to be the one's who would be the first carriers of the "Savior" message. 

So there in a stable in the town of Bethlehem....
Amidst the smell of urine and dung.....
Was born the one we call Jesus...
Immanuel.....God is with us.
Stepped out of heaven's realm to become one of us.
Leaving behind the glory and splendor of His father, Jesus took on the mortal flesh that you and I carry around daily.
He grew to walk among humanity...
He saw death up close and personal...
He experienced the twisted logic and dark hearts of those who practiced religion instead of relationship.
He saw the gratitude and tears of those who received back their love ones from the dead when He spoke life.
He watched the silly, wobbly dance of healing as those whose legs and ankles no longer worked. When Jesus spoke healing to those twisted limbs, the dance began. But it was a dance of gratitude and amazement that such could take place.

With all of these things rolling around in my brain, how could Jesus have had such a birth as He did? Because He came to those who were sin/sick. He came to heal. He came as one of us. He came for the common man and woman. Those who had been marginalized by society and by their own lot in life. 
The leper...
The whore...
The tax collector...
The oppressed....
And the list goes on and on...
Like Jesus said, "The healthy don't need a doctor...I came for the sick."
Funny part about the statement "the healthy don't need a doctor." He wasn't actually talking about spiritually healthy. He was talking about those who were deceived and thought themselves to have no need for this Jesus.
Don't ever doubt that we can deceive ourselves.

Revelation 3:17 speaks of such self deception that can even be found in the church.
Speaking to a church in Laodicea, Jesus says, You say, 'I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." It kind of hard to realize your need when you have surrounded yourself with the things of the world that feed the old sin nature. Jesus came to rip the veal and cover off the human heart so we could clearly see our need for Him and salvation from the destruction that comes when we reject Him.

Maybe we all need to take a spiritual Step #4 during this Christmas season.
Maybe we need to make a fearless and searching inventory of our hearts to see if we have allowed the world to creep in and blind us to the truth. In fact, maybe the greatest gift we could receive this Christmas season would be the healing that only Christ can bring to blind hearts...deaf ears...and muddled brains.
What do you think?

Merry Christmas from the "B's" in Attalla.
God on you...
Michael and Vicki Bynum

My Wish For You During This Christmas Season

My Christmas wish for you and your family is that you find Jesus Christ in a way that you never have before.
That your hearts would be filled with the wonder and joy of knowing Jesus.
That for all of us, Christmas would be more than presents and food and family. That it would be the stark realization that without Christ, we are hopeless and lost. He makes all things possible. And what falls under "All things"? Everything.

My Christmas wish for you is that your hopes and dreams come in line with God's hopes and dreams for your life. That you, in this next year, would experience the joy of walking by God's Holy Spirit's leading. 

My Christmas wish for you is that you would look outward and not inward. That your focus would shift to helping and giving away what God has so freely given to you. You don't need a program or an agenda or a church group to tell you how to do this. All you need is a heart that wants to give away. Find someone and do it. Simple as that. Give a meal or a ride or share your story with another. Look at the faces today as you walk about and ask God, "who do you want me to help?" 

Some of my most wonderful times have come in the most unusual places. Praying for people in Wal-mart. I remember being at Wal-mart some months ago and I was looking for some duct tape and work gloves. I happened to step back and bumped into an elderly woman. "Excuse me, I 'm so sorry.....are you all right?" I asked. She laughed and said yes, but you could tell that she was not doing well. I asked again if she were all right and she began to tell me about her grandson and how he'd gotten into trouble with the law over drugs. I asked her if I could pray for her and she said sure. When I started praying, she said, "you mean right here? right now?" I kind of laughed and said what better place and what better time. It wasn't a long prayer, just to the point. When I finished, she hugged my neck and said she never thought about God coming to Wal-mart but he had. 
You don't have to be a theologian or a Bible master, you just have to be willing to go out on the limb and ask...."Hey can I pray for you."  The prayer doesn't have to be eloquent or wordy....Just from the heart. Try it .....you might find out that God really does show up at Wal-mart.

My Christmas wish for you is peace in your home.
If you don't have peace there, you don't have peace anywhere.
I pray that today would begin a time where Christ would rule over and in your home.
That those who come to visit would be be overtaken by divine peace and even comment on how wonderful your home feels.

I hope each of you is overwhelmed by Jesus during this season.
That the weight of God's glory would settle over you and you find the truth about yourself and this Jesus I have written about.

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom and teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God"....................Colossians 3:15-16

Merry Christmas from the Bynum's
God on you.....
mb

It's About A Child.....It's About A Son

Isaiah 9:6
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, The government will rest upon his shoulders, and he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

II Timothy 3:5
They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. 

People say it all the time...."Christmas is about the birth of Jesus."
But do we grasp the truth that such a baby born changed everything.
He brought upheaval and division to a religious system that was being changed by God himself.
No longer would animals have to be brought to the Temple to be sacrificed for the atonement of sin. This baby.....this newborn would grow into a man who would become the once-and-for-all sacrifice for the sin of the world.

When I look at our Christmas tree, I see another tree on a hill outside of Jerusalem. I see a tree that was shaped and hewn for one purpose...death. I see the cross.
When I look at our Christmas tree, I see the lights. Some that twinkle....some that bubble...some that never change, but simply give off the color for all to see. But when I look at our Christmas tree, I see the light of the world, Jesus. The multicolored lights are evidence of the sum of humanity that He came to die for. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.

When I go to purchases a present for family, I am reminded that my salvation came with a price. A Son willingly died in my place. A Father sent His Son on my behalf to pay a debt I never could. So when I buy a present and then give it....I am reminded that of the cost that came with my salvation.

During the Christmas season, my thoughts are on family and friends. Times that we will share together over coffee and pie. The meal my wife will prepare for Christmas Day. The memories that will be shared about Christmas' past. It will all fall under the category of "Good". I am reminded of how good God has been to me and my family. There will be a time where we will truly give thanks for the bounty and promises that God has provided.

The Isaiah 9:6 passage is a prophetic one that was revealed in the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph.
"A child is born"...refers to Mary being the birth mother of Jesus. A woman that probably should get more credit than most give her. She gave her physical body to God to be used to bring a baby like the world has never seen into our time and space. The words that she spoke when the angel Gabriel came to announce God's plans still amaze me. "Let it be done to me according to Your word."  Truth be known, that should be the cry of everyone who follows Jesus. "IT isn't about me....It's about You, O Lord."

"A Son is given"...refers to Joseph. Jesus was not his child, yet Joseph took it upon himself to raise this Son that Mary gave to Him. Here again, I think Joseph deserves a little more credit that we give him. This unusual birth destroyed every plan Joseph had for his and Mary's future life together. But being a devout man of God, Joseph laid aside his plans to receive God's.
I have no doubt that Joseph didn't love his step-son. I have no doubt that Joseph was a hands on father. To me Joseph's life speaks of how I should respond when God's plans are different form my own. His plans take precedent over mine.

So during this Christmas Season, do more than mouth the words about it being all about the birth of Christ. Revisit the Christmas story. Let it become a reality in your heart as you place yourself in the story. Ask yourself how you would have responded if you'd been Mary or Joseph.
And never forget that Jesus is the reason we celebrate.

Merry Christmas from the "B's" in Attalla.....
Vicki and Michael

God on you...

Looking Back Over The Weekend

It's really Christmas now!
I've purchased my 2015 Waffle House coffee mug.
I'm a mug-nut when it comes to coffee....
The weight of the mug...
The type of handle it has....
The ability to keep the coffee hot for an extended period of time....
All of these are found in this little blue mug created by those wonderful people who run Waffle House.
It's really Christmas now!

Saturday Night:
Good gathering of Vineyard ReCovery Church.
Todd Bagley and worship team provided the vehicle for us to enter into worship.
Simple songs that reflect the goodness of God and our love for Him.
Message was from Luke 2, the passage about Simeon who waited at the temple to see the Messiah. Seems as though Simeon wasn't your typical man-in-the-street. He talked with God a lot.....AND GOD TALKED BACK. 
Things to take away from the message:

1.) Simeon was a righteous and devout man.

No mention of his past...his sins...etc.

Why? Because Simeon did all the law demanded, and then some.

His past was irrelevant because it had been dealt with.
When we confront and turn over our past to God,

we no longer are tied to it. We no longer are slaves to it.

It no longer has power over us.

2.) Simeon was eagerly waiting for the appearance of Messiah.

Not just waiting and marking time...
Simeon was "eagerly" waiting.
How is such a thing possible?
Well, No.#1 -  He believer the promise that God had given to him.

That he (Simeon) would not die until he had seen Messiah.

What does all this have to do with us?
Well, the enemy (not to mention our own nature) wants us to 

be anxious about everything.
When I'm anxious, I am listening to my emotions and not God.

I am making bad decisions based on my anxiousness.

How do we combat this feeling of anxiousness?
Bod gave us someone who works in us to change this.
The Holy Spirit, as He works in us, produces some new

character points to help us not be slaves to our old ways.

Galatians 5:23 lists these incredible new character attributes 

give to us.
One of them is PATIENCE!

3.) Simeon, when he had found Jesus, took the baby to himself.

Such a little thing when we read it.
But when we come to Jesus to be saved, we must do the same...
Spiritually open ourselves up to TAKE Him and allow Him entrance into our hearts.

Sunday Night:

Had the opportunity to go and speak to North Glencoe's Celebrate Recovery. Haven't been out there in a while, so I was anxious to go and be with them. One of the things I love about going to different churches and different places to teach is that I get to sample different styles and types of worship. Last night was really good! New songs that I had not heard before, but ones that were powerful and pointed the way to Jesus.

Spoke on the message the angel delivered to the shepherds, that a Savior had been born and that His birth would be good news to everyone. Sometimes the message gets lost because we hear it every Christmas. It becomes more of a story than truth. It becomes something we expect to hear but not awaken us to the reality of what was spoken to those shepherds long ago. I don't want this to be the way I hear the Christmas story. I want it to be fresh. I want to shake the dust out of my heart and the dullness from my ears and hear the Good News again. I want to be reminded of what took place on that night outside of Bethlehem as shepherds were settling in for the night.

All in all, it was a really good weekend.

Now It's Monday and we get to do it all over again.
Thank you for LIfe, Father....for the good and the bad, that I may find You in all of it.

In Jesus name, amen.

This Saturday night we'll be having our candle light service at Vineyard ReCovery.
If you're free, we'd love to extend an invitation to come and join us.
Merry Christmas from the "B's" in Attalla!
Vicki and Michael Bynum

God on you...

The Time For Lights

Driving home last night was putting the punctuation on a good day. I was tired, but it was the good kind of tired. The kind that quietly tells you that you had heard God, and had followed His simple instructions. Turning onto Case avenue, I could see houses up and down the street all lit up with their Christmas decorations. I'm a sucker for Christmas lights. I love them. Maybe it's because we only put them out once a year. We don't see them everyday...day in and day out. But as I drove down Case Avenue toward Greene Street, I was reminded of a verse from John chapter one.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the

darkness can never extinguish it."

Jesus....
The ultimate light...

The "Let there be light" of Genesis one...
Shines into our world...
Shines into our hearts.....

Shines into our lives....
Daily.
Never ceasing...

Always there..

The incredible news that He is the bridge, so to speak, between a fallen humanity and a divine God who wishes to have relationship with His creation.

And the kicker is that darkness...
Spiritual ignorance....

Pride and a rebellious nature...

Can never put out this light.

We can pass laws and stack them until they reach the sky, but we cannot regulate the message of the gospel.
We can build out pseudo-tower's of Bable and proclaim of what "WE" had done...
But we cannot extinguish the message of the gospel.

Darkness has no power over light....

It only takes a small amount of light to dispel darkness.

Maybe that is why I love Christmas so much. The lights on every corner, shining into the darkness.....

Red lights that remind us of the blood that was shed by that baby boy that was born long ago in Bethlehem.

Blue lights signifying an open sky or heaven. One that speaks of having communication with God. He speaks, I listen....I speak...He listens. We call that prayer.

Green lights that speak of new life. A lush and abundant life when we surrender will and life over to His care. God gives to us a fresh beginning.

          "Therefore, if anyone (man or woman) is in Christ...
They are a new creation.
The old life is gone...
The new one has begun!"

Yellow lights to remind us of gold. To remind us of the cost that God paid for our salvation...the giving of His Son, Jesus, to pay our sin/debt.

The message is in the lights....
The message is the LIGHT of lights....Jesus.
No matter how dark it may appear to me in our world..

No matter how dark it may appear to me in our society or government...
Jesus is there overpowering the darkness with His message of hope.

I'll receive that!

Merry Christmas from the "B's" in Attalla!

God on you....

Vicki and Michael Bynum

The REAL Good News.

Luke 2:11
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord....

The days are counting down until Christmas is here.....
People are rushing about looking for that last minute gift for that special someone.
The radio plays old familiar songs and new renditions that are foreign to me...
Churches every where are preparing their programs and music to celebrate the time and season....
You turn on the TV and there is "Miracle on 34th Street"...or "It's A Wonderful Life."
It is Christmas....One day out of 365....
We can set aside the day...
But we can't set aside the event that Christmas surrounds...
It is merely one in a string of events.

You see, at Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ.
We celebrate a manger that held the incarnate God who had stepped out of heaven to take on the flesh of humanity...
A manger, built for holding food..now held the bread of life.
But you really can't have the manger without a cross.
These are probably the two most opposite kinds of contraptions ever conceived.
One held the baby Jesus...a celebration of life...
The other, the cross, held the broken, bruised and battered Jesus....it too a celebration of life.
You can't separate the two...
You can't have one without the other....

The story doesn't end there...
You can't have the manger...
or the cross......
without the tomb.
The tomb stands as the exclamation point to this entire plan.
Jesus was born...
to die....
To live again....so that I would not have to suffer the second death of eternal separation from God.
He was born to die....
And He died to live again....
The power of sin, death and hell was broken...
That breaking began in a manger....
It was magnified in a river called Jordan at His baptism...
God thundered in the heavens as the Holy Spirit was released..."This is my boy!!!"
Satan was given notice that the one he'd been looking for since Genesis 3:15 was now on the scene.
To me...that is good news of the gospel.
I now have been given the gift of eternal life, to spend it with Jesus.
I don't fully understand how it will work....but that's all right.
I have this thing called faith that Jesus is who He claims to be...
and can do what He claims He can do....

So as you look at your Christmas tree this year....
Don't forget a manger....
When you think of the manger.....remember that the shadow of the cross falls over it..
If the cross comes to your mind, let joy fill you as the you realize that the tomb is waiting....
When your thoughts enter that tomb.....shout for joy! He is risen.....

Merry Christmas from the "B's" of Attalla....
God on you...
mb

Never Forget Whose Church It Truly Is

Isn't it wonderful how the love of God is displayed in the photo above?
Don't you just feel the forgiveness and grace spilling out over the couple as they both express their view points. If you listen closely, you can hear them calling each other by cute pet names they've given each other. Loving titles such as "Heretic"...."Blasphemer"...
"Unbeliever". You know, and I know, that I may have exaggerated this photo a bit, but the truth is such view and behavior does take place within churches today.

Divisions come up....
Factions take sides....
Churches split and make more churches filled with wounded people from the battle that ensued during the split. All the while, those outside of church stand and watch this behavior played out for everyone to see. No wonder we can't get folks to join the church. Why would they want to? You may think I am talking a bunch of hyperbole. I don't think I am. I think one of the major tools the enemy uses to stop the advancement of God's kingdom (the dynamic rule and reign in our time and space) is to get the focus off of God and onto the structure and program we call the church. 

There is an unspoken ownership some have when it comes to church. They have invested themselves and their money into keeping the church afloat, there by buying them equity into any and all decisions made concerning the future (or lack there of) of the church. Never ever forget whose church it is. And the last time I checked, unless you personally hung on a cross and gave every ounce of your blood....then you really don't have a dog in this fight. It is the Risen, Glorified Jesus who claims ownership of the church. 
He isn't real interested in our denominations or movements, as much as He is our obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 16:15-18 is the credentials that Jesus has to claim ownership to any and all churches.  It reads as follows: 
He (Jesus) said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I say that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates (or government) of Hell shall not prevail against it."
Did you catch that?
The church Jesus will build is founded on the understanding that He is the anointed of God. He is the only begotten Son of the living God. As such, nothing that the devil and his minions can throw at Jesus' church will prevail. That is a scriptural view that translates into we win in the end. Game, set, match...over!

I've been reading a book on the history of revival in the United States, and the one thing that keeps coming up over and over is the way revival's were stopped. Dissension among the leaders and the people of different denominations and different churches. Fight's would break out and names would be called...over the silliest of issues. One revival that was breaking out in the north was cut short because there was a disagreement over the definition of "Sanctification". People were dying and going to hell because two groups could not agree on what this term meant. Other issues included a fight over who would preach first......types and styles of music to be used in the service.....and on and on. All the while, the devil stands in the shadows just laughing himself to death. "How easy these humans are to manipulate and get off track." 

For whatever reason, God has given me a simple theology. I guess because the people we have been called to minister to are in need of a simple message. Sin has warped and twisted us all.....God never intended for us to turn out this way, but Adam and Eve had a different take on things. Even with the mess that humanity made back in the garden, God sent Jesus to pay the sin/debt we owe. Because of His death and resurrection, the door has been opened for us to cross through and once again be able to have relationship with God.  Everything else beyond that is gravy to me.

So I have taken a cue from the Apostle Paul in defining my theology.
I Corinthians 2:2 - For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In other words, everything begins and ends at the cross and what Jesus accomplished. End of story. Like I said, all the other stuff is gravy.

God on you...
michael b