“Grits…” (by Mel McGuire)

Being the child of parents who originated in “the south”, I grew up eating grits. I am not here to take up the argument about whether grits should be eaten sweet or salty, for solving that divide is akin to finding peace in the Middle East.

But I was eating some recently due to a fast, and they were the main course because they were the only course. I mentioned a fast, and as such, I was in a hurry to finish the grits, because they were good, and I was fasting.

As I ate each bite, I noticed that the grits remained quite hot as I ate them, even when I got to the bottom of the bowl. I did not eat a single bite without having to blow on them briefly to cool them enough to consume.

Since I was fasting, and desiring to hear God’s voice more readily, I am going to blame this revelation on Him. This was a revelation about church, going to church and being in church…service, not the Body of Christ…but church.

The Lord showed me how normally when I eat grits, they are a side dish. I usually enjoy them along with eggs (scrambled for me), a breakfast meat (bacon, or it’s healthier alternative, turkey bacon), and a breakfast bread, either biscuits or toast.

Consequently, the grits get eaten, but they are not consumed quickly and over the course of the meal, they can cool quite a bit. This is what I recognized about church as I ate these hot grits:

Grits are cooked in boiling water. They soak up that hot water and expand, retaining the heat in the process. When you eat them alone, they stay hot because you tend to mix them repeatedly as you go, redistributing the heat inside the bowl.

When we go to church, we should be like raw or uncooked grits. We should seek to soak up the fire (heat) that is the presence of God. That fire of the Holy Spirit equates to motivation, resolve, and passion for the things of God.

When soaking in His presence is our goal, we can then mix with others of likeminded faith (and actions) and keep that heat as the week goes on. When we treat His presence like a side dish…the heat dissipates like cooling grits.

I like grits. I like them as a side dish. But I needed to remember, that eating grits alone…will still satisfy and sustain me. Bacon and eggs, toast and whatnot are all fine and dandy. But grits are enough.

All the trappings of church, and there can be many…are fine, and can be quite enjoyable. But the presence of God is still enough. In some churches the presence is like sweet grits, in others it is salty…either way, it is grits and it still satisfies and sustains if you get it while it is hot.

“Deposition…” (by Mel McGuire)

Heard a great sermon entitled, “Can I Get a Witness” by Senior Pastor Charles Humphrey Jr. of Hope’s House Christian Ministries. The subject was evangelism and he used courtroom vernacular to drive home his points about our testimony.

One of the things he discussed is pre-trial testimony, which is referred to as a “deposition” or “being deposed”. This is normally done in private, outside of a courtroom with no judge or jury. Attorneys ask questions and a court reporter records and transcribes the testimony.

To question a witness in a court proceeding is referred to as an “examination” of the witness and their testimony. There is direct examination where your attorney asks questions to elicit your testimony, and cross examination where the opposing attorney tries to impeach or discredit you and/or your testimony.

In a deposition, even though there is no judge or jury, you still must tell the truth. Remember it is pre-trial testimony.

You will be asked the same questions or similar questions in the actual trial, so before the trial it is best to prepare by reviewing your testimony. Selah.

I equate a deposition to a good church service, a good sermon, an effective personal devotion or bible study, and even a healthy, uplifting interaction with a fellow believer. In those times, we are saying what we believe, what we have seen, witnessed, experienced, and know to be true.

There is a spiritual “court reporter” who is transcribing and recording all we say. The cross examination should give us a clue as to what will happen when the real trial begins.

During our deposition, we say things like we trust God, we love Him and He is the head of my life. We promise to serve Him, to love like Him, and to walk in mercy and extend grace and forgiveness, like it has been extended to us.

We promise to pray, to study the word, to share the gospel, to be a guiding light in a lost and dying world. We say that God is good all the time…and all the time, God is good. This is our pre-trial testimony.

Then when the real trial starts, we tend to forget what we said in our deposition! We panic, try to operate from memory, and say something that contradicts our prior testimony.

Since we do not want our advocate treating us like a hostile witness, we should know we can always ask to have our deposition transcript read back to us!

You can refresh your memory by reading your own testimony! When the opposition tries to discredit or impeach you by bringing up “prior bad acts”, we can plead the blood and our advocate will remind the judge our past is irrelevant!

The image of the witness stand includes a microphone. This aids in the recording of your testimony and allows for amplification so all who are present can hear your testimony.

We are living epistles, known and read of all men. Be a great witness. Give unimpeachable testimony about what God has done for you!

You have been deposed. Now prepare for the trial to come. Speak boldly and proclaim the Good News and the good things God has done for you! Your testimony can provide the evidence to set someone else free!

“Camouflage…” (by Mel McGuire)

In the movie “Jurassic World”, the new villain is a dinosaur called “Indominus Rex”. The word indominus means “untamable”. It is a hybrid animal created from the DNA of a variety of other species, not all of them dinosaurs.

One of the features of this creature is the ability to camouflage itself, and when it demonstrates the trait…bad things happen. No one seemed to know the animal could do that, but part of its DNA came from a cuttlefish.

A cuttlefish (google it), has an extremely fast growth rate, which is why it was used to create the Indominus…but it also has the ability to camouflage itself, as a way of hiding, and to aid in hunting prey.

A tree frog was used in the creation as well. The frog shows great adaptability to extreme climates, a good thing…but it also has the ability to regulate and moderate its own body temperature, which the Indominus used to trick heat sensors and once again, avoid detection.

Finally, they put a GPS chip in the Indominus at a young age…but it removed the chip, at no small cost of pain to itself, to avoid being tracked. This all leads us to church.

Like a garage is built for cars, a church is built for believers. But, just like everything in a garage is NOT a car…everyone in church is not a true believer. Some folks are using camouflage to avoid detection and accountability.

To camouflage simply means to blend in for the purpose of hiding or concealing your presence. Many people come to church and take on the appearance of accelerated growth…they dress right, talk right, look the part… but they are in camouflage.

Whether they do it to avoid detection, or more ominously, to help them hunt prey…many unsuspecting believer has fallen victim to a church going “Indominus”.

When God tells us to be hot or cold, but NOT lukewarm…He may have had these folks in mind. By being lukewarm you blend in…warm enough to be convincing, but cold enough not to commit. Like the Indominus, beware the person who can always manage to avoid detection by heat sensors.

In church, the fervent prayers avail much…true worshipers go “in” during devotion, lovers of the word are “on fire” and excited about the written and spoken word. They stand out and they stand up. Commitment to His presence is a spiritual thermometer. That person you have got your eye on…are they real or in camouflage?

And lastly, beware of folks who refuse to be accountable…to anyone. They do not want to be tracked, followed, known, or understood. They live in fear of having their sin exposed, so they do whatever they can, even if it costs them dearly, to resist being accountable.

These traits are contrary to the nature of God and His kingdom. The Indominus has developed attributes that allow it to hide in plain sight, setting up its prey, or just simply avoiding detection.

Submit yourselves to God and allow Him to have true reign in your life. Test every spirit to see if it is of God or not. God has given us a sound mind, so let the mind of Christ be in you…so you can have sound discernment and can sniff out the Indominus in your midst and in YOUR life.

“Pollen…”(by Mel McGuire)

A recent study on the early church in the Book of Acts led to this lesson on the need for pollen in our Christian lives. As I learned about how the early church was scattered and the disciples spread the good news, I was reminded about the importance of pollen. I charge today’s local church to produce pollen and today’s church member to pollinate the world.

There are basically two types of pollen. I see no need to give you the scientific names, so let’s just call them “light” pollen, and “sticky” pollen. Plants use both types to reproduce.

You see, a plant is “planted” and by definition is not able to move around and transport its seed. So in order to reproduce, it must find a way to get its seed to other plants. Thus, the purpose of pollen. The local church is like the plant.

The light type of pollen is blown by the wind and is carried away from the host plant by the whims of the breezes. When it lands on a suitable entity, it begins the process of reproduction.

Now, pollen is not the actual seed, but the vessel that the seed is carried in. In the church, the word of God is the seed, but it must be carried via a vessel. I liken the light pollen to things like radio or TV ministries, the CD or web-hosted ministry, flyers, advertisements, billboards, signs and “word of mouth”.

The church has a message, and that message gets spread, but like pollen in the wind, who can really say when or where it will land? But it must be scattered in order to reproduce.

Now sticky pollen is the kind we associate with honey bees. When a bee lands on a plant, to partake of its nectar, the sticky pollen attaches itself to the bee. As the bee then travels from plant to plant, the pollen goes with it and can then be deposited on other plants to begin the reproductive cycle.

In my mind, the people of God are the bees. When they come to the local church to partake of the goodness of God, the sweetness of fellowship, and to be nourished by “host plant”, they should pick up some pollen. Something with the ability to produce life should stick to them!
Then wherever they go, that spiritual pollen can be spread.

As they walk in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, self-control, etc. they can be a carrier of the good news! Like the honey bee covered in sticky pollen, it should be obvious that they have been in a pollen rich environment. They do not look like normal bees! They have pollen all over them and that pollen is steady trying to latch onto to someone else!

The local church I charge to be that pollen rich environment. The members of the church I challenge to be the honey (aka “worker”) bees; partaking of the “nectar” and spreading it everywhere you go. It is our God given mission to pollinate a dying world, so stop “buzzing” around and land somewhere and start spreading the good pollen of God’s kingdom.