Month: June 2025

Some Days Just be that Way…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Did you ever have one of those days? You know? One of those days when you’re afraid to ask, “What can happen next?” Yeah! Friday was one of those days for me. I won’t bore you with all the details. Suffice it to say, I was glad when Friday was over. I swear, I thought it had to be Friday, the 13th!

Paul’s Bad Day

The Apostle Paul and his traveling companion, Silas, had one of those days, too. Actually, according to the Book of Acts and Paul’s own epistles, he had many of those days, but so do we. I’m thinking of one day in particular, though. It’s found in Acts 16.

Paul and Silas were minding their own business just preaching the Gospel headed to a prayer meeting in a town called Philippi when a demon-possessed slave girl begins following them shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved” (Acts 16:17). I’d say that makes for a bad day.

Now, that wouldn’t generally be problematic except that the slave girl was persistent in her proclamation (day after day, the text says) until Paul finally tired of hearing her. He rebuked the evil spirit and commanded it to come out of the girl (Acts 16: 18).

Now, here’s the rub: the slave-girl was the property of a couple of guys who were making money off her ability to divine the future. Paul’s exorcism cost them money, so they went to the leaders of Philippi and brought charges against Paul and Silas. I’d say that makes for a bad day.

From Bad to Worse

It was a day that would get worse. The city officials ordered Paul and Silas stripped, beaten and thrown in prison. So, it goes from bad to worse–once in prison, they were ordered to be put in the inner dungeon and their feet be clamped in stocks (Acts 16: 22 – 24). Didn’t want these guys to escape.

But wait! The day gets even worse! Around midnight (v. 25), there was an earthquake (not unusual for the city of Philippi, but still–today? Really?). Don’t ask, “What else could go wrong?” You might just find out! The day, for Paul and Silas, was definitely “one of those days” you’d as soon forget.

Actually, though, it was an unforgettable day, but for reasons other than all that made it a bad day. It became a day of transformation, and perhaps the best day in the life of a family in Philippi–the jailer who was tasked with guarding Paul and Silas in prison.

A Transformative Day

What made it a transformative day in the jailer’s life? I think it started with Paul’s and Silas’s faith. Paul and Silas had a faithful attitude in their lives. On a day when adversity slapped them hard in the face, Paul and Silas chose to go to church. Well, they didn’t actually “go” to church. They chose to “have” church in prison. They chose to pray and sing hymns in the face of their adversity (Acts 16: 25).

Paul and Silas chose to live in the hope they had in Jesus Christ. I guess they lived what Zig Ziglar would subsequently teach–“Attitude determines altitude.” When faced with adversity, we can exhibit hope, or we can exhibit hopelessness. Paul and Silas chose hope.

Now, by adversity, I’m not talking about the kind of adversity football and baseball coaches talk about. When you’re down by a touchdown, or when you’re a couple of runs down in the bottom of the ninth inning, that’s not adversity. It’s a game. Yes, you can show spunk and exhibit grit and determination, but a win or a loss is not generally going to impact the course of history. Pulling out a win is not overcoming adversity, Coach.

Adversity is hearing the news, “You’ve got cancer.” Or worse, “Your child has cancer.” That’s adversity!

Adversity is hearing the news, “You’re position is being phased out. We won’t need you anymore.”

Adversity is hearing, “I want a divorce.”

Adversity is losing a child.

Adversity is losing a home.

Adversity is being wrongfully accused.

Adversity is…well, you get the idea.

Here’s the thing, though. Adversity is a fact of life. Though we seek to avoid it desperately, it always rears its ugly head, and usually at the least convenient times. That’s because life isn’t fair, nor is life certain. Unexpected circumstances can bring adversity into our lives, or our own bad choices can bring adversity into our lives. Even the actions of others can (intentionally or unintentionally) cause us to face adversity.

Certainly, Paul and Silas did nothing to warrant their place in prison. The actions of others placed them there. Yet, they chose the hope of their faith over the hopelessness and injustice of their circumstances.

My friends, I’ve said all that to say this–May our first reaction in the face of adversity be to sing the Doxology:

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him about ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

Praise is transformative. For us…and, for others.

Yup! Some days just be that way. Friday was one for me. You know what, though. It’s Sunday! I survived.

Whatever we’re going through, we will make it through. Paul and Silas did. So will we!

Until next time, keep looking up…

Random Randomness Randomly Recorded…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 3 Comments

First, Happy Father’s Day! I hope all the fathers who read my blog have the best day ever. As a father myself, I can honestly say we don’t need a gift from our children today. Please realize that YOU are the gift. Your presence, your hug. your love, your wellness are all that matters to your dad. Give him those gifts and you’ll make his day.

I hit upon an amazing idea this week: ban all drive-thru windows. As I was sitting in a drive-thru (for an insufferably long time), I thought about how much fuel is wasted every day by us waiting in drive-thru lines. Not only that, but actually having to get out and go in to an establishment would help all of us with our personal interaction skills. If we want to save the planet, let’s start here.

All the world’s problems cannot be summarized by a meme. Meme’s simply reflect the shallow thinking most of our leaders utilize to make decisions. Just as our problems can’t be summarized by memes, neither can they be solved by them.

Solving the world’s problems takes hard work. No one wants to work hard anymore. Heck! No one wants to work, period. Everyone wants success, but everyone wants success handed to them. 98% of success is just showing up everyday.

Speaking of hard work: Moving is hard work. I don’t care if you’re moving from one room to another, it’s still moving and I hate it. I’m grateful I have the opportunity to do it, but I still hate it. Talk about cognitive dissonance!

I think it’s perfectly okay to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U. S. Army, even if the planned celebration happens to fall on a certain terribly despised person’s birthday. I am grateful for the U. S. Army, and for the men and women who have sacrificed for our nation. Why not celebrate such a momentous occasion?

I’m also reminded that the terribly despised person mentioned above is only despised by less than half the country. That means that more than half the country doesn’t despise him. We can’t live our lives mad at half the nation.

My statement of the above probably just angered some of you who read this blog. It’s okay to be angry with me. What’s not okay is for you to vilify me or demonize me. That’s what is wrong with our culture today.

Democrats and Republicans appear to be living on two different planets. What’s worse is there is no communication capability between the two planets.

Social media is the anti-Christ!

Why don’t we turn off social media and sit down over a cup of coffee and talk to each other about our hopes and dreams, our families, our future, our faith? We might make a little progress toward a better future.

I was reminded by social media that it is Annual Conference season. I miss Annual Conference (oh! how I make myself laugh sometimes!)! What I miss is the relationships that Annual Conference fosters. I didn’t get to attend a “Journey” session (Annual Conference) for my own denomination this year. I need some good, old-fashioned collegiality right now.

I might have more collegiality if I were a bit more collegial myself.

I’ve determined that I need saving everyday. Preaching on Paul’s conversion this week reminds me that even good, righteous holy people need Jesus. I’m the chief among them. I’m also reminded that I can be so busy doing God’s work that I fail to realize that doing God’s work and doing God’s will are not always the same thing.

Folks, we need to pray for Israel and Iran. People dying is never a good thing.

I suppose that’s enough randomness for one day. Happy Father’s Day! Oh, wait! I said that already.

Until next time, keep looking up…

A Both/And Sort of Life…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

My daughter gave me a most unique gift for Christmas last year. It’s called Storyworth. It’s a writing prompt. They send you a weekly question. You answer the question and after a year they compile the answers as a book. It’s designed to capture family stories and family history for your children and future generations.

I was challenged by the question posed this week: “How is your life different than you imagined?” I thought I’d share the answer with you, too.

My life is, at one and the same time, both different than what I imagined and not different than what I imagined.

It is different in that I never imagined spending years in full-time vocational ministry. That was never anything that was on my radar, but it is what was on the Lord’s radar for 28 years.

Filling in the Blank

What did I imagine? Maybe too many things to list. I was always a dreamer (day-dreamer). I would sit around and imagine what life would be like if I did __________. I would fill in the blank and that would be a day-dreaming topic.

There were actually a few things I filled in the blanks with that actually had an opportunity to become reality. First, was my desire to be Bob Barker. Not literally Bob Barker, but on television and in radio. I took steps in that direction. I went to work at KTOC- AM & FM radio is Jonesboro, LA. I thought that was the way to get started. I did that for a year and moved to KXKZ-FM in Ruston, LA. I only worked there a few months when Vanessa and I started dating. Working got in the way of dating, so I quite that job and went back to the grocery/hardware business of my grandfather’s, where the options for dating were more flexible.

I also pursued an education while in high school in the communications field. The Vo-Tech school offered classes in Radio-Television Technology. I spent my high school week-day afternoons as a student of that program.

Those classes opened the door to many opportunities in the radio/television field. It eventually led to a job opportunity in Lake Charles, LA with a local TV station there. The News Director from KNOE-TV in Monroe had recently transferred to Lake Charles. He knew me from my time hanging around KNOE as part of the Vo-Tech classes. He called and offered me a job as a cameraman/videographer (that was the real entry level job in television in those days). I was young. Vanessa and I were planning to get married, so I declined the opportunity. Honestly, I was just scared. I didn’t want to leave Chatham, LA. Ironic that I did leave Chatham some years later pursuing a path that I had never imagined.

Another time the blank was filled in was in pursuing a career in the military. I was a recently married young man and my childhood experiences of visiting Barksdale Air Force Base on yearly trips to the air show fueled my love for the military (well, the Air Force, actually). One day, Vanessa and I were in Monroe and we just stopped by the Air Force recruiting office. I walked in and told them I wanted to join. They started the process right then and there. I guess they didn’t want to let a live one get away.

I took their battery of tests. I actually aced their ASVAB test. The recruiter said he’d never had a recruit to ace that test. He seemed really excited to have me joining up. We then moved to the physical aspect of their requirements. They took me in a back room, measured me and weighed me, and determined that I was 22 pounds overweight for the Air Force.

He said I had two options: one, go over to the Army recruiter. The Army would take me in my overweight condition. Or two, go home and go on a diet and come back in a couple of months. I chose the second option primarily because I never imagined life in the Army. I didn’t want to go in the Army. I wanted to go in the Air Force and learn how to fly jets. I came home and thought about trying to lose the weight, but I really think the fear of leaving Chatham kept me from pursuing the weight loss whole-heartedly, so I never went back to the recruiter.

I’ve often wondered how life would have been different if I had joined the Air Force that day. I suppose we’ll never know.

A New Twist

After the Air Force debacle, I had resigned myself to spending a life-time in the hardware business. I had worked for my grandfather throughout high school and had continued on after marriage. It was a comfortable life. It had afforded my grandfather and grandmother a comfortable living, and I didn’t see much else on the horizon. I imagined that I would eventually take over the hardware business when my grandfather passed away, but alas, that was never to be.

It wasn’t too long before my uncle came to work at the hardware store. My grandfather, who had been in the grocery business for 40 years, built a new building to house the grocery business. When he built it, he brought my uncle and my dad into the family business and gave them an ownership interest in the grocery store. He kept the hardware business in the old grocery store and kept it as a separate company with himself as sole owner.

Well, my dad and my uncle couldn’t work together. They didn’t get along, so my dad chose to leave the business to pursue other interests. My uncle ended up the sole operator of the grocery business. It wasn’t too long until he found himself going through a divorce. Long story short, the grocery business was eventually sold and my uncle was working in the hardware business. It soon became apparent to me that I would not be the inheritor of the hardware store. I thought it best to pursue other opportunities for the good of my family.

My experience working in that business did give me the dream of owning my own business. Even as a young 19 – 20 year-old, I would read Inc. magazine, peruse the classified ads that were found in the back, and look for franchises that I might buy into and open in or around Chatham, LA. Funny thing is, I had no money and getting financing as a guy in his late-teens, early twenties wasn’t likely to happen (or I was too dumb to know how to make it happen), so they remained only dreams.

I eventually was offered an opportunity to go to work for the local sheriff as a deputy. I never imagined that in all my imagining, so I suppose there is some irony in that, as well. The position offered health insurance and retirement and we were pregnant with our first, so we decided it was the right step for us. I went to work for the sheriff in February of 1983.

Working for the local sheriff gave me an itching to go into politics. I thought I might parlay that job into an elected position within Jackson Parish, and I somewhat began working toward that end. 

A New Calling

Let me try to make a long story short. It was 1989, and a young, charismatic pastor was appointed to our church. I had (sort of) drifted away from church attendance at that point. After all, I worked most Sundays, and attendance was not a priority on the Sundays I was off, but this new young pastor started visiting me, and riding around with me when I was on patrol.

We spent a lot of time talking about life and church and meaning and purpose. I became more active, even attending revivals. The pastor held a tent revival on the back lot of the church parsonage, and there I was in attendance. It was at that revival that I first began to sense a call to ministry…probably as a result of all the conversations the pastor and I had on those long, late-night rides around the country-side.

That eventually led to my solo late-night experience in September of 1990 along May Road at Hickory Springs Church when I heard the audible voice of the Lord say, “Lynn, I’ve more than this for you.”

When I arrived home that evening (around 1 a.m.), trying to reflect on what happened, I turned on the TV thinking that would take my mind off of it. There were only three channels in those days (well, only three channels you could pick up on the TV in the country without cable). The ONLY channel that was still airing programming at 1 a.m., had on a TV evangelist (Robert Tilton). He looked straight into the camera and said, “There is someone listening to the this program right now, and the Lord has called you to ministry. You need to accept that calling.” True story

The next day, I was visiting with my pastor informing him that I thought God was calling me to ministry. Before I knew what happened, I was sitting in the District Superintendent’s office answering questions and beginning a journey towards vocational ministry. The rest, as they say, is history. There are a lot of good stories along the way, but suffice it to say, this was never anything I ever imagined. I guess God is funny that way.

After leaving vocational ministry, Vanessa and I eventually become small-business owners. I don’t know if that is life coming full circle and me ending up where I used to dream about ending up, or if the Lord was being gracious after 28 years of service in ministry.

All I know is that being a business owner was once a dream. Now it’s a reality. When I tell people that I’m living the dream, I actually mean it. Some days, though, that dream is a nightmare! Most days, it’s blessing, so I’ll try to be as grateful as possible.

So, I suppose that explains the answer to the question, “How has your life been different than you imagined?” can be answered in a both/and sort of way.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Mid-life Mayhem…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

No! Not me. King David…you know? King David of Israel. It had to be mid-life mayhem. Some call it a mid-life crisis. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about David’s tryst with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11 & 12), and his subsequent cover-up. Here’s how the encounter begins:

11 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

According to the biblical chronology, David was somewhere between ages 49 – 56 when this event occurred (see here).

So, all week long I’ve been asking myself, “How could David do such an obviously wrong thing?” I mean, seriously, he is God’s anointed one, a “man after God’s own heart,” the poet of Israel, the one who was/is the foreshadow of Messiah. How does he fall, and so obviously and precipitously? It just doesn’t make sense. What could it be?

I thought, perhaps, it was boredom. Here’s David lounging around in the spring of the year, sleeping until afternoon, hanging around an empty palace (all his warriors are off at war). The proverb “idle minds are the devil’s playground” is true. Perhaps if David had been productively occupied, say out with his warriors, this might not have happened.

Maybe David had a sense of entitlement at work. You know? He was thinking, “I’m the King. No one says ‘No,’ to the King. I can do what I want.”

While it is true that Israel was governed by the Mosaic Law, and the Mosaic Law was very specific concerning the act of adultery, I wonder if David saw all the surrounding kings who WERE the law in their kingdoms, and thought, “I can make my own law,” or thought he wasn’t subject to the law. Yeah, it’s a stretch, but I’m trying to make sense of it all.

Some have suggested that it wasn’t a sin for David to be with Bathsheba. Under this line of reasoning, David instituted the practice of issuing a “conditional divorce” to soldiers going off to war in case they were lost in action so that their widows would be free to re-marry legally. Uriah was conditionally divorced from Bathsheba because he was at war. According to this reasoning, David’s sin wasn’t adultery, it was the murder of Uriah and its cover-up. I’m not sure I buy it, but it is an interesting perspective.

I’m not justifying David’s actions with these excuses. Just trying to understand his actions. Nothing justifies David’s actions. Nothing justifies our sin. Suffice it to say that this episode in the history of Israel and the life of David stands as a cautionary tale for all of us. May I share some of the cautions I’ve noticed as I’ve reflected on David’s actions?

Caution #1: Everyone is subject to the power of sin.

No one (not even David) is perfect. David had a human heart (even if it was one after God’s own) just like the rest of us. As the Apostle James reminds us:

14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1: 14 – 15 NIV).

Yes, David (up to this moment) has been the foreshadow of Jesus Christ, but this moment is the pivot of David’s life. Before this moment, the biblical writers portray only the triumphs of his life. He is anointed as king. He wins mighty victories over his enemies. The nation writes songs about him and celebrate his victories. He becomes king, and a good one, too. He shows mercy to his enemies. He reunited the Kingdom of Judah and the nation of Israel. He is riding high in Israel.

Events after this encounter are recorded as pure tragedy. He loses a child (the child born of this tryst), he has a son rape one of his daughters. Another son kills that son. Children revolt. David flees. He gets old and dies. Literally, the triumphs of David’s life turn to the tragedies of David’s life, and this is the pivot point.

Before this moment, David is (appropriately) compared to Jesus Christ. From this moment, David is contrasted to Jesus Christ, and we discover that even David needs Jesus, for even he is subject to the power of sin.

Even the chronicler of 1 & 2 Kings saw this as the pivotal event of David’s life:

5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15: 5 NIV).

Caution #2: Sin destroys everything.

David’s family fell apart. Uriah lost his life. Bathsheba lost her family and a child. Sin, this sin, destroyed it all.

Yes, David repented of his sin (see 2 Samuel 12 and Psalm 51), but repentance doesn’t negate the consequences of our sin. We are left with pain and grief caused by the brokenness of sin.

Yes, salvation in Jesus Christ saves us from the penalty of sin (Romans 6: 23), and he (along with John Wesley) says we are saved from sin’s power (Romans 6: 14), but nowhere does the bible indicate that salvation in Jesus saves us from the consequences of sin.

Caution #3: Everything is not enough.

David had it all. He was famous. Fame didn’t satisfy him.

David had success. He had won great victories on the battlefield and reunified the nation. He had brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. Success didn’t satisfy him.

David had great wealth. Kings from surrounding kingdoms were paying him. tribute money and he was adding his wealth to the treasury to build the glory of Israel–the Temple. His great wealth didn’t satisfy him.

He had everything, yet he wanted more.

The blessings of the economic realities of the United States of America has created a very comfortable environment for all of us. Our success has left us wanting more, more, more. In all our pursuit of more, we are moving further and further away from the Lord. We’re busy chasing anything to fill the emptiness only God can fill.

Caution #4: Anything might be legal, but not everything is moral.

David may, in fact, have seen himself as the law of the land, and by a simple edict established anything as legal. But, just because something is legal doesn’t make it moral. When man’s law and God’s law come up against each other, God’s law will win every time. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But, ultimately, God’s law will prevail.

Perhaps David had already experienced this reality. We know that Genesis 2 is explicit in God’s plan for marriage–a man and woman become one flesh. Yet, David had 8 wives (at least 8!). Yes, it was legal, but legal doesn’t mean moral.

Yes, gay marriage may be legal. Legal doesn’t mean moral.

Yes, abortion may be legal. Legal doesn’t mean moral.

Yes, gambling may be legal. Legal doesn’t mean moral.

Yes, it may be legal for the United Methodist Church to seize all the property of the local congregation. Legal doesn’t mean moral (Yes! I went there!)

Finding Jesus.

As I always do, I need to find Jesus in these Old Testament accounts. Where can I see Jesus in this unfortunate episode in David’s and Bathsheba’s lives?

Well, Jesus is certainly present in their genealogy. Matthew’s Gospel mentions Bathsheba in Jesus’ family tree, so there’s the literal sense in which Jesus is present.

Beyond that, though, I see God’s sovereignty at work in all the brokenness of their lives. God’s will is accomplished (salvation comes through Jesus) even though David is disobedient and sinful. There is hope for me yet. All my broken, sinful attitudes and actions will not thwart God’s plan. For that I am grateful.

What a testament to God’s grace! It’s all grace, and Jesus came so that we might know the grace of God up close and personal. Repentance is grace. Forgiveness is grace.

What a great lesson to learn in mid-life (or at any other point in life). It’s a lesson I’m learning a little past mid-life, but I pray that I AM learning it.

Coming to understand the depths of God’s grace opens us to a new (or renewed) gratitude for Him. No, it won’t necessarily change my circumstances, but it will change my perspective and attitude. It can, literally, give me new life–God’s life in Jesus Christ.

Oh, that I should be so blessed.

Until next time, keep looking up…