Backward Bill? My Bill?

Backward Bill

But this thing I commanded them, saying, Obey my voice, I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.  But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walketh in the counsels and the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

                                                                                                            …Jeremiah 7:23-24

Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.                              

                                                                                                            …Jeremiah 8:6

            My precious husband Bill, stuttered so bad that he had special classes to try and overcome the speech difficulty acquired when he was very young.  He said he developed the stuttering because of the fear of his older sister.  Well, he has been known to exaggerate in his story telling just a bit.  If you ask his sister she has a completely different story!  Nevertheless, the stuttering habit stuck with him into his teen years.

            When God called “Billy” to preach, eyebrows lifted in questionable fashion.  “Billy?”  The ‘Billy Levergood’ we know? You’ve got to be kidding!”  But when the newly called of God preached his first sermon on teen night no one could believe their ears.  He stuttered not a word.  The reason being he was well organized in his thoughts, well practiced, and methodical in his approach.  God showed him how to over come his stuttering habit.

            God had plans for “Billy.” Even though not feeling confident in a new language the ugly head of the stuttering creature reared his head up again, but before long Bill became fluent and was able to overcome it with God’s help.

            When talents, gifts, desires, weaknesses, or even backwardness is placed in the hands of God anything can happen.  Jeremiah sees the sin and weaknesses of the people of Jerusalem given over to disobedience, which in return leads them away from God’s special plan for them; one of peace and not strife.  Backsliding then results.

            As we know, any weaknesses given over to God can be turned into great strengths.  One of the secrets is to be committed, determined and methodical in your approach to God. 

            The Jewish people are called to repentance from their backslidden state.  God tells them He is not so concerned with their sacrifices and offerings, as He is with the condition of their hearts.  God says, Obey my voice, and I will be your God and ye shall be my people, all said at the time idols are in the back room of the Temple. This was daring, and boldly done in the face of God. That would be testing God’s righteous anger.

            The state of the Jewish people is that of backward, not forward.  Much more serious than a stuttering young man given over to God!  Bill was a bit backward, but he wasn’t back sliding. 

Father,

I come before you thanking you for your longsuffering toward us.  We are weak and need your constant guidance to keep from the back sliding state like the Children of Israel. Help us to set firm our commitment with determination as we serve you with a pure heart, with no hidden idols in the back room. Cleans and purify us Lord.  In Jesus Name

Fork in the Road by Carol Levergood

Fork in the Road

I surely loved my mother-in-law, Flo Levergood, who is now with the Lord. Talk about personality she had it!  One time, my husband and I decided to accompany her and Dad Levergood to Texas to see "Grandma FeeFee," or Mrs. Frazer, the wife of the founding pastor of the Wick Road Baptist Church.

Bill and I found the trip to be quite amusing.  Mom Levergood always did the driving, because Dad never wanted to. Instead he was our trusty navigator.  However, Mom never trusted his sense of direction so she didn’t like to follow his instructions.  On this trip we eventually came to a fork in the road and Dad said, "Go right!"  Mom said, "I don't think so Walter. I think we go to the left."

“Honey, if you won’t believe me please stop somewhere for directions!”

      Laughing, Bill and I looked up to see a hitchhiker at the fork in the road bravely thumbing a ride.  I’m sure he thought he was about to become a hood ornament as he stood there with a suitcase in each hand, trying to decide if the redhead at the wheel was going left or right.  Finally he gave up and threw his suitcases into the air and ran for his life.  If a policeman had gone by at that time he would have given this man a ticket for littering the bushes with his underwear. 

The poor man high-tailed it out of there just as an indecisive mom eventually made up her mind to go left.  Of course she took the wrong way but she would not admit it.  Mom and dad Levergood were divided at the fork in the road, each insisting they knew the right way.

Throughout history divisions of all kinds happened at the “fork in the road.”    The Bible is full of directional instructions but they were not always heeded.  You will find in the devotionals in the following pages, a direction or position that is also found in the verse.  Look for the word!  It might be as simple as in, out, and up, but scripture always leads God-ward.

Are you at a fork in the road?  Watch out! If you don’t search for God’s guidance and direction you might want to alert that bystander you are coming through!  Yell, “Hang on to your suitcase!”

Like Walter pleaded with Florence I too plead with you, “Please stop and follow God’s directions for your life.” 

Prime Timers Today

Sound the Mega Phone

God-ward

Sound the Mega Phone

For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak anything.

                                                                                         …I Thessalonians 1: 8 KJV

            Our family wasn’t hooked into any 911 system living out at the youth camp in Brazil, when the Mafia hit our home outside of town.  The criminals had just randomly picked our place to hide from the authorities chasing them.  We didn’t realize how much danger we were in until after the fact.

            After that close call of almost breaking into our home, my husband hooked up an alarm that would sound through out the mountainside.  This alarm was made from a car battery and had a megaphone wired to it so the alarm would be magnified several times over.  I felt better knowing my neighbors could come to our rescue if need be.

            The megaphone was so loud it would pierce anyone’s ears in the middle of the night.  This is the way I imagined he church of Thessalonica.  They were much like the Paul Revere fashion, sending it on yelling it out in the streets, passing on the Word in urgency.  The Thessalonians become examples to the world for their sounding out the gospel. This fascinates me when I think about Missions; we are to be megaphones to the world like the Thessalonians.

            Paul continues to say, in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; God-ward, or faith in God has influenced many to turn to Christ; Jesus the resurrected. 

           

Father,

I praise your name above all names, and am so thankful someone sounded the urgent call letting my family know of danger ahead.  The gospel message sounded through out our home when, a man, a minister took the time to tell my family we were lost without the redeeming blood of Christ.  At that moment my parents accepted Your Son and eventually, the rest of the family has come to accept Him also.

 I thank you Father.

 May my life always point God-ward. In the Name of Your Son Jesus I ask thee.

First blog

Who is the Banana Lady women are inviting to speak?  Her name is Carol Levergood.  She is a CLASSeminar member with Florence Littauer and likened to a modern day Carmen Miranda. 

Who would have dreamed God would use green bananas to teach her one of life's greatest lessons; that of the growing and maturing process.  This process does not have to be as painful as we make it.  Like green bananas we placed in our pantry to delay the ripening, I too was delayed in my personal ripening and maturing as a Christian.

Written to the dear one turned away:

Many years have passed and the joy on your face has diminished from the on-going battles within your heart. You choose to walk with Him no more! Talk is boisterous and proud, even haughty; as if to say you need Him no more. Your selfish thoughts and plans exclude God completely.  Sin has apparently taken its’ toll; I can see it in your eyes, even when you try to make me think otherwise with strong laughter as a cover up.

I am a pastor's wife and former missionary to Brazil.  After 21 years on the mission field, we returned to Missouri, where my husband Bill was Senior Pastor of the Dunnegan Bible Baptist Church, outside Bolivar for 12 years.  He has also been Dean of Men of the Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri 15 years where we both are graduates.