Clouds

For several weeks we have experienced a real ‘monsoon’ season in the southeast section of our country. But I don’t remember enjoying looking at the clouds in their various sizes and shapes since my childhood. Even the sunsets have been enhanced as the sun rays are seen beaming around a magnificent cloud. Some of the cumulus clouds reach perhaps 20 to 30 thousand feet in height. The beautiful blue sky at times has been filled with soft pillows of clouds. Other clouds that hang low and are darker in color have for their background the larger whiter clouds. Some clouds hide the sun and make for cooler weather while working in the yard or in the field. Then there are storm clouds that bring lightning and loud bursts of thunder and heavy rains and sometimes hail. On some days the entire sky is overcast with clouds that can make a person feel depressed. But, all in all, clouds are beautiful and they make believers appreciate God’s creation. The Psalmist declared, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalms 19:1). You need to stop for awhile from your busy schedule and look upwards to the beautiful scenes not made with man’s hands.
It is amazing how often we read about clouds in the Bible in connection with important persons and events. Here is a list of just a few times clouds are mentioned in both the Old and New Testament ~
*God set a rainbow in the clouds (Genesis 9:13).
*A pillar of cloud guided the Israelites during the day on their exodus from Egypt (Exodus 13:21).
*The glory of God often appeared in a cloud (Exodus 16:10; 19:9; Numbers 11:25).
*A cloud covered Mount Sinai when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:15-18).
*A cloud filled the Holy Place and the house of the Lord when the glory (Divine Presence) of God appeared (I Kings 8:10-13). This is called the Shekhinah.
*“A day of clouds” is mentioned when God speaks of punishment on Egypt , Ethiopia and other enemies of Israel (Ezekiel 30:1-4).
*Job describes how rain is formed from the drawing up of the water “Which the clouds drop down and pours abundantly on man” (Job 36:27, 28).
*Daniel wrote of the time when “One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him” (Daniel 7:13, 14).
*“A bright cloud overshadowed them” on the Mount of Transfiguration when God said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5).
*At the Lord’s judgment upon the city of Jerusalem the “Son of Man” is depicted as “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).
*Luke wrote about the ascension of Jesus in Acts 1:9, “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”
*The apostle wrote that the Israelites “all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (I Corinthians 10:1, 2).
*Paul, in giving encouragement to the Thessalonians regarding their loved ones who died in Christ, wrote of the second coming of the Lord in this manner, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).
*Both Peter and Jude wrote harshly concerning false teachers who would lead Christians astray as being like “clouds carried by tempest” and “clouds without water, carried about by the winds” (II Peter 2:17; Jude 12).
*The apostle John wrote that the Lord Jesus Christ was “coming with clouds” (Revelation 1:7).
John also “saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud” (Revelation 10:1).
*In the highly figurative book of Revelation John wrote, “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.” This was regarding the reaping of the earth’s harvest, a matter of punishment (Revelation 14:14-16).

Sanford F. Bennett in 1867 wrote the beautiful lyrics of the song “Sweet By and By” and the first stanza tells us that “There’s a land that is fairer than day, And by faith we can see it afar; For the Father waits over the way, To prepare us a dwelling place there.” In the book of Revelation we read that “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light” (21:23). Also “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever” (22:5). It is necessarily inferred that no clouds, especially storm clouds, will be there as the beautiful hymn “O They Tell Me of a Home” teaches:

O they tell me of a home far beyond the skies,

O they tell me of a home far away;

O they tell me of a home

Where no storm clouds rise,

O they tell me of an unclouded day.

O they tell me of a home

where my friends have gone,

O they tell me of that land far away

Where the tree of life

In eternal bloom

Sheds it fragrance thro the unclouded day.

O they tell me of the King

in His beauty there,

And they Tell me that mine eyes shall behold,

Where he sits on the throne

That is whiter then snow,

In the city that is made of gold.

O they tell me that He smiles

on His children there,

and His Smile drives their sorrows away;

And they tell me that no tears

Ever come again,

In that lovely land of unclouded day.

O the land of cloudless day,

O the land of an unclouded sky;

O they tell me of a home,

where no storm clouds rise,

O they tell me of an unclouded day.”

~ Josiah K. Alwood, 1890

In Memory of Byron L. Benson

If you called him at his home it would indeed be a rarity to reach him. You would get his answering machine and hear him say, “You have reached the BENson residence…” I really don’t know when he slept. He was always on the go somewhere. He was consistently doing something for his family or visiting the hospitals or training his grandchildren to eat catfish downtown at the Farmers Market Café. He was a connoisseur of good country cooking. Since he spent so much of his time in the lower part of Montgomery County and in Crenshaw County, the people at Chic’s in Highland Home or the Chicken Shack in Luverne would have known him by name. I have never known any gospel preacher who attended more gospel meetings than Byron. Oh, how he loved to sing. Regardless of the weather or the distance, you could count on Bryon being present for these occasions. He served on the Board of Regents of Amridge University (I encouraged him to do so). He was on the planning committee for the Capitol City Prayer Breakfast and he would call 40-50 people to attend this bi-monthly service. No one worked more diligently for this good work. He and I alternated in being the MC for this event. Often we would take a jab at one another in fun.

Byron loved to preach. He was zealous for the local congregation where he labored part time (a misnomer in his case). He seldom missed preaching on Sundays while he was with the Grady congregation for some 36 years. His last work was with the Capitol Heights church in Montgomery (5 years). He loved to do his radio program live. Brethren knew they could depend on him for brotherhood news regarding singings, gospel meetings, lectureships, etc. It seems that he knew everyone and everything that was going on among the congregations in central and south Alabama. He preached for some 37 years on the radio, assuming this role following the beloved Clyde Fulmer.

Byron was my friend. Virginia and I helped to sing for the wedding of Byron and Carolyn which was conducted in the West End church building some 52 years ago. Byron, Carolyn, Roger and Helen Dill and Virginia and I would often eat together on special occasions such as birthday and wedding anniversaries as well as other times. On one occasion, the total number of years of marriage between the three couples was 150 years. Our server couldn’t believe it. Once, while we were enjoying a meal together, I found a rather large insect in my glass of tea after I had taken a couple of drinks. In a very short time the manager was at my side apologizing for the incident and gave me my dinner free of charge. From that time on Byron and Roger would ask me if I brought my insect with me when we would be eating together.
Christian friendship is one of God’s richest blessings. I shall miss the many telephone calls from Byron as we talked about Sunday’s assemblies and many other subjects. He retired from ATT&T several years ago. He believed in communicating via the telephone. But he didn’t have much confidence in emailing others or in taking the time to read the ones sent to him. It was in April of one year when he called me and said that he had just read my Christmas card I had sent him the previous December. We enjoyed a good laugh together. When I would call him on his cell phone I would usually ask him, “Byron, where are you?” He would be somewhere doing something for someone. If I could call him now and ask, “Byron, where are you?” he would say something like “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”, or, “to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:21, 23). This is the blessed assurance that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. My good friend you may now rest from your labors of love but your works and influence will continue for generations to come (Revelation 14:13).

He Shall Be Like a Tree ~

"He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water"

Jer. 17:8

There were times while taking my morning walks on Saint Simons Island, Georgia that the sun's rays could not reach me because of the beautiful oak trees with their overhanging limbs covering the street below. Trees are one of God’s most beautiful creations and especially these particular trees laden with Spanish moss. The trees on the island are so respected that streets are built around them. I have often thought of a poem we had to memorize in school many years ago.

TreesAlfred Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Psalms One is a favorite of scores of saints. Therein is a contrast between a godly and an ungodly person. It is of the believer in God that demands our attention in this article. Undoubtedly David is the writer and he informs us that this man is blessed; that is to say he is happy and fortunate. This is one of several ‘beatitudes’ mentioned in this book. Please observe that the negative is first mentioned as pertaining to this man’s character. He “walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” This means that he does not habitually seek the advice/counsel of those individuals who would influence him to do evil. He does not associate with sinners in such a manner that others would consider him one of the ‘in groups’. And certainly he would never join the ungodly scoffers of all that is good and sit with them in their devilish fellowship and participate in their evil doings.

This blessed man is one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.” “Law” would not only be the Ten Commandments but would include the first five books of the Old Testament and the words of the prophets who spoke by the guidance of the Holy Spirit as mentioned in 2 Peter 1:20, 21: “(K)nowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” This man of God takes great pleasure and satisfaction in having access to the Word of God to read and to meditate on its message for his spiritual growth and well being. The writer in Psalms 119:47, 48 & 97 expresses the same in this manner: “And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes.” “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Such an attitude should permeate the very life of a disciple of Jesus Christ (John 8:31, 32; 2 Timothy 2:15).

The Psalmist compares this blessed child of God to one of His creations: “He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its seas, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And what he does shall prosper.” Notice that the tree was planted by someone. It did not accidentally grow in that location. The seed (Word of God) that is planted in the good ground (heart) “is able to save your souls” (Luke 8:11; James 1:21). The moisture from the rivers (channels) provides the nourishment to keep the tree healthy and strong and enables it to bear fruit to be enjoyed by all. Even in times of drought the leaves stay green because water is nearby. The Lord God blessed Israel in various ways when the people served him faithfully. The land produced bountiful crops; the herds multiplied; wives gave birth to children and there was food to eat. The Holy Scriptures contain manifold promises to the children of God who trusts in Him. Jesus taught this as recorded in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” I Corinthians 3:21: “Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours.” 2 Corinthians 9:6: “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” The righteous man will “bear much fruit” as he is led by the Spirit (John 15:8; Galatians 5:22, 23).

Because Christ dwells in the heart of the righteous man by faith, he will be “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17). This ‘tap root’ of faith in Jesus Christ and in the knowledge of His Word, will prevent him from being “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:11-16). He will “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). This is one version of an old folk song that should express the conviction of every Christian.

I Shall Not Be Moved

Words by John Benson, Jr.

Jesus is my Savior, I shall not be moved; In His love and favor, I shall not be moved, Just like a tree that's planted by the waters, Lord, I shall not be moved.

In my Christ abiding, I shall not be moved; In His love I'm hiding, I shall not be moved, Just like a tree that's planted by the waters, Lord, I shall not be moved.

If I trust Him ever, I shall not be moved; He will fail me never, I shall not be moved, Just like a tree that's planted by the waters, Lord, I shall not be moved.

On His word I'm feeding, I shall not be moved; He's the One that's leading, I shall not be moved, Just like a tree that's planted by the waters, Lord, I shall not be moved.

I shall not be, I shall not be moved; I shall not be, I shall not be moved; Just like a tree that's planted by the waters, Lord, I shall not be moved.

Jesus Christ Would Have Made a Difference

This is a very sad, but true, story of a family of my personal acquaintance that was non religious and afflicted with the curse of alcoholism.

We lived in a very large old house on the ridge just out of town. Someone was building a new brick house on the road back of us. My younger brother and I, along with other friends, were curious. We found a nice sand pile that tempted us to play in and to enjoy. One day the big man who was laying the bricks told us that someone was scattering his sand that he used in making the mortar and he asked us to watch out for the persons and warn them not to do it again. How wise he was. We never played in his sand again. This was my first acquaintance with Mr. Harold.

He and his family soon moved near us and they became good friends with my family. He had a very attractive wife, two handsome sons and a very pretty daughter. The oldest son became a friend with my older brother. I liked the daughter but she was older than me. I wished her and my brother would like one another. The youngest son and I became friends. We were in the same grades in elementary and junior high school. Mr. Harold’s wife died while I was a boy.

I don’t remember this family attending any religious organization. I learned also that Mr. Harold had a very bad habit of getting drunk on occasions. His youngest son and I considered joining the Boy Scouts but he did not because he said, “I don’t want anyone telling me what to do.” He had a rebellious attitude. He later married but he and his wife divorced. He was killed in a motorcycle accident. He also drank alcoholic beverages.

Mr. Harold’s daughter married a nice man but something went terribly wrong. She shot and killed him one day. Some years later she committed suicide. Their son attended the same college that our oldest son did and they became friends. But after his mother died, he committed suicide two years later.

The oldest son of Mr. Harold joined the Navy and served for years in the service. It was well known that he was addicted to alcohol. During a time of heavy drinking someone shot and killed him. I learned just recently that his son was killed by his wife. Neighbors said that they had been drinking all day and had been arguing. So even in the third generation of Mr. Harold’s family there was drunkenness and violence.

Mr. Harold later married after his first wife died. He claimed that in self defense he had to shoot and kill his step-son.

The handsome family I once knew when I was a boy is now gone. For the most part there was the absence of the Lord Jesus Christ and the presence of alcoholism and violence in this family for three generations.

If only Jesus Christ had been a part of this family, the members would have known the “peace that passes all understanding”, forgiveness of their sins and the hope of eternal life. The fruit of alcohol beverage is totally bad. It should be avoided completely. The decisions we make as parents morally and spiritually can and often does affect generations to come. It is with a sense of deep sadness in my heart that I recall these facts of friends of years past.