HEAR THE INVITATION TO BE ---- WITH /TOGETHER/ knit together!
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
MISSING A CHANCE TO BE TOGETHER?
Matthew 23:37 O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, HOW OFTEN WOULD I HAVE GATHERED THY CHILDREN TOGETHER, EVEN AS A HEN GATHERETH
HER CHICKENS UNDER HER WINGS AND YOU WOULD NOT!
COL. 2:2 THAT THEIR HEARTS MIGHT BE COMFORTED, BEING KNIT TOGETHER IN LOVE...
Matthew 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is
brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.
Mark 3:24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Luke 11:17 --- and a house divided against a house falleth.
1. Seems in life we can lose the ART OF GETTING TOGETHER.
Many are living in the same house, but they are not TOGETHER. The house can never be a home without
togetherness. I know of a wife that is not WITH her husband. I know a husband that is not WITH his wife.
I know children that are not WITH their parents.
Many preachers are not with their brethren! Many pout and doubt?
Many say, I don’t need you anymore! I will do it my way?
Many don’t plan on submitting to leadership or accountability? What are we teaching others?
Many families have no glue holding them together? I don’t love you anymore?
WHAT HOLDS A HOUSE TOGETHER?
I hold three nails in my hand, and talk about what holds a house vs. home together.
Linda, the boys and I were moving into a home, the man that owned the house said, I am glad you are moving into my house. He said it has always been a house, it has never been a home. His family had lived in the house.
There were doors with fist holes through them. It was apparent many fights had taken place there.
We had to do a lot of remodeling to hide the damage. It had been a house where people came to sleep, but they were never together?
SELDOM SEEN?
There is a smooth Bluegrass group that sings, they do not perform often together, they are all doctors and are busy. The group’s name is SELDOM SEEN.
I ponder how often we don’t see our loved ones because we are so busy?
2. LOOSING THE ART OF TOGETHERNESS?
Years ago the television brought the family together. There was one TV and everyone gathered around it.
The Dad needed the kid in the room to change the channels.
Today in many homes in the USA, the Dad has his TV, the children their TV, and they are watching their own
thing. Today we have remote controls and we don’t even watch one show, we are forever changing channels.
Years ago the family gathered around the table for three meals a day. Today it is fast food and TV trays.
Years ago we would ride in the car as a family and sing and laugh and talk, we would enjoy seeing where
we were traveling. Today the car has XBox, Game Cube, two stereo’s, a TV, and the family never talks or sings together, the kids don’t even see where they are going.
Remember when neighbors visited and talked? Who is my neighbor?
We have schedules that are killers. Kids playing on three or four sports teams, finish this game, and run to another.
Then there are all the school activities and then if you have time, you might go to church. There was a day when sport events and school activities would have never been on a CHURCH NIGHT!
Today, there is great competition to take the priority of church time with no regrets.
There are many books that warns of over scheduling, lack of priorities, and leaving no TOGETHER TIME!
Did you hear about the Pastor’s wife that dropped a note in the offering plate?
She asked her husband to schedule his family in his appointment book.
3. I TOOK TIME, AND I WAS THE ONE BLESSED. TIME WITH BRANDON!
Recently, my three year old grandson, Brandon, called and told me he needed a Superman Shirt. I told him,
I would get him a Superman Shirt and bring it to him Monday.
At three, he said, "NAW, naw, Paw, come and get me and take me WITH YOU!
I said, Of course, I will come and get you and take you WITH me.
So, Monday morning, I went to his house. He was waiting, he hopped up in my pickup, buckled in, and away we went.
In the first mile, he mentioned pizza. I informed him we would go get pizza then.
He said, MAMAW? Ma-maw?
So, I dialed the cell phone to Linda’s work place, and gave it to him, and like a man he talked and invited Ma-maw to pizza WITH US!
We picked up Linda, went and ate pizza, just Linda, Brandon and me, TOGETHER! You should see Linda’s eyes
sparkle when she is WITH the grandsons.
We took Linda back to work, and we went to Toys R Us, and found two Superman shirts.
We talked, we laughed.
Brandon is tongue tied, at some point this will have to be cut by the doctor.
Brandon asked me, Paw, would you pray for my tongue?
I laid hands on his head and started praying a little boy prayer.
Brandon said, No -- Paw, and he pushed his little tongue out and asked me to touch his tongue.
I gently touched his tongue and prayed for Brandon and I prayed for his tongue.
Brandon really enjoyed that? A few miles down the road, he asked me again to pray for his tongue and he put it out as far as it would go. I prayed again, I cried, tears ran down my face, I saw a tear run down Brandon’s cheek,
I think he felt God in his own little way.
What an honor to have a grandson that asked his Paw to pray.
What a day! What a day to be WITH my grandson.
I took him home, let him out, he ran to Mommy, and came back and gave me a hug and a kiss.
He didn’t care about the Superman shirt, it was just the TIME WITH HIM.
As I drove away, I thanked God for a little kid’s call to BE WITH ME! Maybe Brandon will not remember this when
he grows up, but this old man will.
I cook every Wednesday. Every Wednesday evening, my sons, their wives, and my two grandsons come to eat.
I realize I am building their tomorrow’s today! This time together is precious, and we will not always have
this time together.
4. THERE CAN BE A GREAT ENEMY OF THE FAMILY AND THE CHURCH --- A LACK OF UNITY AND A WRONGFUL
FOCUS OF PRIORITIES, --- THINGS ARE NOT IMPORTANT, PEOPLE ARE.
Psalms 133:1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell TOGETHER IN UNITY...
I once was young, but now I am old ... there are several words that have become more precious to my heart with the years of life. I love the word HOME. I dream of home, I like to be at home now.
Young people can’t wait to leave home, old people can’t wait to go home.
As my childhood home has dissolved, I focus on the Heavenly Home.
I also love the word WITH, I love when I am with someone, and they with me. When we are on the same page.
I love the word together, --- together with the Lord ---
5. Isaiah 1: 18 says: LET US REASON TOGETHER ---
Snowflakes seem so weak and fragile, but look what they can do when they stick together???
Seems we all know Birds of a feather will gather together.
At one time through love all things come together into one, at another time through strife’s hatred they are borne each of them apart. Empedocles.
Seems in Acts they were together, in one place, in one mind set, this togetherness released a move of God.
Ben Franklin warned the friends starting the USA: We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all
hang separately.
Job 38:7 The morning stars sang together...
And He walks with me, and He talks with me --- HOW WONDERFUL TO BE WITH HIM? He with us.
A LONG PULL, A STRONG PULL, AND ALL PULL TOGETHER!
Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
6. WHAT CAN UNITY AND TOGETHERNESS BRING? What can discord and strife bring?
Matthew 18:20 Where two or three are gathered TOGETHER in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
If there is beauty in being together, I cannot tell you the ugliness and scars that infect and fester behind hurt, offenses, strives, and cruel words. How sad are the Words what might have been if you could have buried your differences?
What might have happened in Jerusalem if they had heeded the together call of the Master?
Matthew 23:37 O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, HOW OFTEN WOULD I HAVE GATHERED THY CHILDREN TOGETHER, EVEN AS A HEN GATHERETH
HER CHICKENS UNDER HER WINGS AND YOU WOULD NOT!
I read a story in a Ranger Rick Magazine years ago.
There had been a terrible forest fire in a national park. The fire had left everything desolate and black.
The forest ranger was walking where the area had cooled. He saw a lump of charred remains as he was walking.
He kicked the lump, and three baby chickens came running out. The hen had become a thermal blanket,
as she gave her life to protect the little ones WITH HER.
The Ranger picked up the baby chickens and carried them to safety.
As he walked farther, he noticed some small lifeless baby chickens, burned to death. They had not obeyed the Momma
Chicken’s call to safety. They died, when the others lived.
I ponder, has the LORD CALLED US TOGETHER IN A SAFE PLACE AND WE REFUSED BECAUSE WE WERE DOING
OUR OWN THING?
CAN YOU HEAR THE CALL, COME --- COME TOGETHER FAMILY! COME TOGETHER CHURCH!
Love and fear can hardly exist together. We must make a choice to love or fear. Seems many can find safety in fear.
We can fear love?
Romans 8:28 ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER for the good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His
purpose.
The enemy has a plan, --- stop us from unity, for division kills. Di-vision?
Di -- means two, two visions --- without vision the people perish, with many visions not coming together the work will cease or be limited.
7. SEEMS WE CAN WORK WITH GOD, IT IS JUST OUR FAMILIES AND PEOPLE WE CAN’T WORK WITH???
DO WE KNOW: families are either growing together or apart?
Reason and vision must grow together.
1 Cor. 3:9 For we are laborers TOGETHER WITH GOD, ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
What causes disharmony? WHAT DIVIDES A HOME? REBELLION? STUBBORNNESS?
Mark Twain said: It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart; the one to
slander you and the other to get the news to you.
IS IT ONLY PERIL THAT CAN BRING FAMILIES TOGETHER? WE CAN GROW CREATIVE USE OF CONFLICTS!!!
We cannot successfully build on the hill or on anything. We should build with the hill, belonging to it, so the hill and our work could be together, all in unity, and all happy.
8. GOD BRING US TOGETHER AGAIN ... we are not Lone Rangers
Seems Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, all the King’s horses and all the king’s men
couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty TOGETHER AGAIN...
It is their fault! Apathy, indifference, coldness, numbness, they deserve it!
The same time that separates us will bring us together again, if we build eternal.
THE GREATEST ENEMY OF THE FAMILY MIGHT BE LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSE DOING YOUR OWN THING?
I am told the Army, Navy, Marines may fight each other in peace time, but there must be a coming together,
in war --- they must come together.
Who is your enemy?
9. To grow --- the fruit must cling to the tree. The fruit cannot separate itself and grow!
Is the only way to go your way? The fruit is very different from the tree, but the fruit must cling to the life in the tree.
That fruit may never see the roots, but if there be no roots, there will be no fruits.
10. DAVID HAD A FRIEND WITH HIM ... JONATHAN --- WE CALL IT SOUL TIES.
David loved Jonathan! Jonathan loved David. They were better men because they had walked and worked
together. After Jonathan’s death David looked for a way to express and show his love to Jonathan’s family.
11. DIFFERENCES CAN HURT?
Gender differences? Generation gaps? Socio-enomonic differences? Educational differences? Religious /tradition differences? Focus all you want on how different we may be, but we all have more in common than different.
THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF CHICKENS (Rhode Island Red, white, roosters, hens, ) ---
BUT IN DUMPLINGS IT IS JUST CHICKEN .... In the cooking pot seems all differences matter little!
We can compare ourselves and try to be LIKE another, you waste who you are.
EPH. 5 :21 SUBMITTING YOURSELVES ONE TO ANOTHER IN THE FEAR OF GOD.
22. Wifes submit yourselves unto your own husbands, AS UNTO THE LORD.
LET THE DIVIDED COME TOGETHER....
Ecc 4: 12 --- a threefold cord is not quickly broken...
ARE OUR HOMES KNIT TOGETHER?
Judges 20: 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, KNIT TOGETHER AS ONE MAN.
God help us all move together. Help us stay together.
God, bring families together! Bring churches together! Bring our nation together at Your Altars!
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
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