Feel The Urgency

I know that there are hundreds of writers on this planet that could write this blog better than I can, and there are thousands of articles on this issue. However, God has placed on my heart to write this entry. Never before in my life have I ever had the urgency to say something. Now, for those of you who know me say, “Yeah right, you talk all the time”. THIS IS DIFFERENT!! I PROMISE!

Never before in history should Christians stand up and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Colossians 4:5 says “live wisely among those who do not believe and make the most of every opportunity.” Why now you ask??

The majority of the prophecies that the bible spells out to us have either already been fulfilled, or being fulfilled right before our very own eyes. For example, take a look at the European Union (EU). Daniel Chapter 2 describes the revival of the Holy Roman Empires thus whom Jesus will come and destroy. This is the EU.

Scholars say that the Anti-Christ will come out of this revived Holy Roman Empire. The top runner for the “Permanent” President of the European Union is Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of England. Now, I’m not smart enough to say, nor have the education to proclaim that he is the Anti-Christ. I’m just saying it is possible that he is. He’s the Middle East Envoy for peace, he’s inspected a Jerusalem palace as home for his peace envoy role, and he’s lobbied for the World Bank and for its top position, and expressed interest in a one world faith!

Now, get this. Wednesday, September 23, 2009, in my opinion marked a very dark day in American history. A day that, I feel will be marked as the day that God will keep His promise in Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you (speaking about Israel), and whoever curses you I will curse; and all of the peoples on earth will be bless through you.” President Obama spoke at the United Nations on September 23, 2009, and this is what he said:

“The time has come, to re-launch negotiations without preconditions that address the permanent status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem. And the goal is clear: Two states living side by side in peace and security, a Jewish state of Israel, with the true security for all Israelis…”

That sounds all fine and like the world Mary Poppins would live in, but let’s finish the sentence. He continued by saying:

“…and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, and realizes the potential of the Palestinian people.”

Prior to this statement, he said:

“We continue to call on Palestinians to end incitement against Israel, and we continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.”

Again, I’m not scholar, but to me, it sounds like the President of the USA said that we no longer recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli settlements and that Israel should end the occupation that began in 1967. For years, the USA has stood by the side of Israel and on September 23, 2009, the USA “cursed” Israel and I believe that God will no longer bless the USA like he has in the past.

I want to reiterate, I’m NO SCHOLAR! I have no formal education on this topic. I don’t want the Secret Service or Tony Blair coming after me! SMILE

Let me get to the point.

I was discussing this with my Pastor last night and he asked me, “Aren’t you excited” and I had to say no. I’m not excited because of the millions of people that will go to hell because they have not accepted Jesus as their savior. I have close family members and close friends that do not know the Lord. It frightens me that we are living in a day that our generation most likely will experience the rapture and when that happens, I will not see those members of my family again. That is why the urgency! Now, more than ever should we be taking EVERY opportunity we can to witness to everyone we can, especially our family members who do not know the Lord.

God has put us on this earth, at this time in history not to sit by and be a bystander. Unfortunately, I have been that bystander. I’ve done nothing to grow the Kingdom of God. We should not be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. We are to keep our eyes fixed on Christ and share his love with others.

There is a young man that I was introduced to through a mutual friend on Facebook. His name is CJ Phipps. I don’t know him personally and only physically met him once. He’s currently in Argentina at the Word of Life Bible College. He’s writing a blog which I just love to read. After you finish reading mine, you can visit his at www.cjwol.blogspot.com. He’s a very talented young man, but most importantly, a very Christ driven individual. In his last blog titled “Gates of Hell”, he wrote the following words after trying to witness in a major city in Argentina:

“I was standing with one of my translators and he was telling me some of the things people around were saying. A group of girls walked by and yelled out, “I sin all the time and I don’t care.” Other remarks were made that I don’t want to repeat. But that hurt me. I was actually almost brought to tears because I have learned more of God’s grace and love in the past few weeks than I have in a while as I have drawn really close to Him. God loves those who spit on Him and deny His goodness every day. He loved me even when I did not love Him back. That made me yearn to bring these people to Christ even more.” -CJ Phipps

Thank you CJ for teaching an old dog some new tricks. These are feelings and the type of passion that I (we) should have with our lost families and friends. It should (and does for me) bring tears to my eyes when I think of all of the people that I know that are not saved. Simply put, they are on their way eternity, separated from God. Instead of feeling nervous about how they may react, it should “make me yearn to bring them to Christ even more!”

I’ll leave you with this thought. I know that it’s hard to witness to those you love and care for. For some, it’s hard to witness to anyone at all. But we have to! Simply share the Gospel through your words, your life and your walk. Find the passion for Christ. Be like CJ… “Yearn to bring as many as you can to Christ” before His return.

Do you feel the urgency??

There Will Be A Day

My favorite Christian artist is Jeremy Camp. His music to me is so heartfelt. His writings express how his heart feels and how God has taught him lessons in life through trials such as the death of his first wife to cancer. They were both in their early 20’s and had only been married less than a year.

I know that I’ve been taught many lessons this past seven (7) months of 2009. The passing of my Dad, my eye issue, job issues, other health issues and even a car accident has taught me that no matter what, our Lord is still in control. I really feel that he allows these things to happen to us to strengthen us for future events that only He knows about. I also believe that trials help us get ready for our passing into the kingdom of heaven one day.

I remember the last week of Dad’s life that he was praising his Lord as much as he could. Every time I hear the song “There Will Be A Day” by Jeremy Camp, I think of Dad’s journey. Dad knew that the Lyrics that Mr. Camp wrote are so true. They are:

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain and no more fears. There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face. But until that day, we’ll hold onto Him always.

Dad knew that. Dad knew that one day all of the pain, tears and fears will be gone! However, he also knew that until that day, he would need to serve his Lord as savior to the best of his ability.

I also knew that Dad had a longing to be in heaven. Once again, the same song has that same sentiment. The bridge of the song says:

I can’t wait until that day when the very one I’ve lived for always, will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced. To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery, O, this is why… this is why I sing!!

Can I get an AMEN!

I know that one day, I will be in heaven. I will get to see my Dad, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. But the real reason I have a longing to get to heaven is not to see those guys again; although that is going to be so great! But it’s to see Jesus face to face. To touch those scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery; to thank Him and praise Him for being my Savior.

Now that deserves an AMEN!

Doing it right the first time

If you have ever studied the findings of the sinking of the Titanic, you will find that one of the reasons that the Titanic hit the iceberg was that the captain of the ship inadvertently handicapped the turning ability of the ship.

The Titanic had triple-screw engine configuration, with reciprocating steam engines driving the wing propellers, and a steam turbine driving her centre propeller. The reciprocating engines were reversible, while the turbine was not. When the Captain gave the order to reverse engines to avoid the iceberg, he inadvertently handicapped the turning ability of the ship. Since the centre turbine could not reverse during the "full speed astern" maneuver, it simply stopped turning. Furthermore, the centre propeller was positioned forward of the ship's rudder, diminishing the turning effectiveness of the rudder.

Had the Captain reversed the port engine, and reduced speed while maintaining the forward motion of the other two propellers (as recommended in the training procedures for this type of ship); experts theorize that the Titanic might have been able to navigate around the berg without a collision. Simply put, if the Captain would have taken just an extra couple of seconds to think things through, he could have avoided the iceberg.

So many times in life, we make a decision that leads us straight into an iceberg. Instead of taking second to think about the implications, we move forward. Then when we see the crash coming, we simply try to do a “full speed astern” maneuver, (which means to fully reverse course (engines), and we still crash into our “icebergs.”

Proverbs 16:9 says, “The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (NASB) I love the way that the Message Version reads: “We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it!”

Another Proverb, 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

How stupid can we be! God gives us the map of the oceans. He lays out our course and guides us day by day in life. Even when we get off course, he will lead us back to calmer waters.

You know, our road map of life is like a time line. God doesn’t have our road map of life looking like the road map of downtown Boston. It’s a straight line. Gods’ initial plan for us was that we were to be born, mind our parents, be perfect little children, be perfect teens and then go to school and seek Gods will for our lives. We were to be eager to learn more and more about him and to serve him all the days of our lives. We were to be in one accord with Him.

Take your local Pastor for example. I would assume that he was to be born, get saved at an early age. Then he was to go to seminary and become a Pastor. He was to come to your church, serve for 32 years and retire and live happily ever after until he goes home to glory. He was to be a perfect man. He wasn’t supposed to make any mistakes, never sin, and always have his suit and tie on and never hair out of place. Now, ask him. Was that the way it happened? NOT! He was born, grew up. Went to church, but cut up and played around. Probably drove his parents crazy! Some probably strayed from the Lord in their teenage years. Then, one day, he found God’s will in his life and went into the ministry. Now, some probably don’t have a hair out of place, and some probably don’t even have hair!! Some never seem to get real mad, but they are still not perfect. He, just like everyone else, sins.

Listen to what I’m saying here. WE DRAW the curves, cultic-sacs, dead end streets, and detours in our road maps of life. God, again, has the race he wants us to run, already marked out for us! All we have to do is look to him for the directions.

One of my favorite verses that you will hear me quote a lot is “Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus…” Hebrews 12:2(A). If you do that, you will never run into the iceberg.

Falling Apart

This past weekend, I fell apart.  Just the emotions of Easter Sunday with Dad’s passing so fresh in my mind, I just fell apart.  

When the music, the Easter Message and the drama reminded me of what our Lord and Savior did for us on the Cross… I fell apart. 

Ever feel like everything around you is falling apart? With the world’s economy, our personal finances, our jobs, our relationships the way is, it’s easy to say that it feels like things are just crumbling around us.

However, God’s word tells us in Colossians 1:15-17 that “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created:  things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Ever heard of “Laminin”?  Wikipedia describes Laminin as “… a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.”  So, in layman’s terms, Laminin is what holds us together.  They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what hold one cell of our bodies to the next cell.  Without them, we would literally fall apart.

But here is the cool part.  The picture above is a microscopic picture of Laminin.  Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!  The glue that holds us together is in the shape of the cross!

My Pastor preached a sermon not too long ago and he said that an artist puts his signature on his masterpiece to show that the art work is his masterpiece.  Look how God put His signature on HIS masterpiece!  

So, when you feel like things are falling apart all around you and you feel that you are alone.  Remember, you are God's master piece and you are being held together by Him.  

A Son Proud Of His Father

On July 8, 2002, I wrote my Dad a poem for his birthday. Most of it, some of you won't understand. Some, you will. I hope that you enjoy it.

A Son Proud of His Father


As a little boy, I remember you joking with me about your finger.
Telling me, if I don’t keep my finger out of my nose,
A booger will have it for dinner.

I remember the baseball games, where we had so much fun.
Being called “tobacco boy,” being a ball boy,
And watching Cal Ripkin, JR. play out in the sun.

I remember going to work with you at the old age of eight.
Sitting in paint buckets and you laughing at me
Until your entire body ached.

I remember taking trips to Raleigh, Virginia and to the Zoo.
Crawling up in your arms at Chimney Rock.
You pretending to throw me down and make me a pile of goo!

I remember our trip to Italy, Germany, Austria and France.
Amsterdam, England, Switzerland
Put us both in a trance!

I remember our Trip to New York City where we had a ball.
Even at the World Trade Centers,
Where you took your big fall.

I remember the dark times, when you were told that you were sick.
How my heart broke, split and cracked,
When I was told the Months you had left were only six.

I remember the day that you ask Jesus into your heart.
Giving him all that you are, your soul.
And you said that you would never part.

I remember the joy and pride in your eyes,
When my beautiful bride walked down the isle.
You were my best man, right by my side.

There are so many thing that I can remember, say and do.
But the most important one is,
How I’m so proud of you.

I’m proud of the fact that you are saved by Gods Grace.
Each time I see you in Church,
I can see it on your face.

I’m proud of the way you’re handling your life.
Living it to the fullest,
With my Mother, and your wife.

I’m proud of the way that you’ve let your sister go.
Knowing that one day, you’ll see her again
In Heaven, I know.

I know that it’s supposed to be that a Father is proud of his Son.
But on this occasion, it’s with pride and joy that I say,
Dad, I’m proud of YOU, and most of all, I’m proud to be your son.

My First Post

Hi All.

Welcome to my blog site.

As some of you know, since my Dad's passing, I've been toying with the idea of writing a collections of thoughs regarding the fifteen year battle of my Dad's cancer. This is the start of that collection.

Most of you have visited the Caringbridge Site that I did in honor/memory of my Dad. I will copy most of those entries to this site and continue to write as much as I can.

Thank you for supporting me through all of this. This is new to me and I look forward to writing as much as I can.

Thanks,

Mike

From the Grandson

Hi All,

Today, my son, Brandon, had a project that he had to do for his Bible Class. His had to write, memorize and give a presentation to his class on this topic; “Our Trouble Can Be Opportunities.” He decided to use Dad has one of his people to write about. I am so proud of him and his job, so I want to share it with you. So, today’s post is by my son, Brandon.

Our Trouble Can Be Opportunities

The death of my grandfather is what really inspired me to use the topic “Our Troubles Can Be Opportunities.”

My grandfather, Linzey Broom had cancer for 15 years. When he was first diagnosed, the doctor told him he had 6 months to live. He felt that it was not his time to go and neither did God. After finding this out, it changed his aspect on life and the way he handled situations. He decided that he would try to find the positive in each situation he encountered. He also began to take his relationship with God more seriously and you could tell that God was truly in his life. He influenced everyone around him with his positive attitude, no matter what the situation.

He used his cancer to witness to many people. He witnessed to the doctors, nurses, co-workers, family, and friends. The way he acted was one of the biggest ways he witnessed. If anyone deserved to complain it was him, but not once did he do that. Instead of seeing all the things that were wrong with him, he would look for the things that he had that were good and thank God for them. When someone asked him about his cancer he would tell them how blessed he was to survive it for so long.

After 15 years, and 178 chemotherapy treatments, the Lord took him home on February 25 of this year. In the last days of his life, he really got ready to go home to heaven, but he didn’t just make sure he was ready but also everyone else he saw. He would ask, “Am I going to see you again in heaven,” and he would pray with them.

My grandfather was a great man in every aspect of life. He taught me and everyone else he met how to live and how to die. His cancer was his trouble that he used as an opportunity to witness to others and tell them what God has done in his life. The number of lives impacted by him may not be known to us, but God knows how many lives have been touched.

Joseph is also a great example of someone who used his troubles as opportunities. He was the son of Jacob, and had many brothers. His brothers didn’t like him very much because their father, Jacob, favored him and showed him more love than he did to any of his other sons.

Joseph also had dreams that said that one day his brothers would bow down to him. This made them very angry, so they decided to sell him into slavery. As a result, he was sent to Egypt as a slave. Joseph had many complications in Egypt. He was put in jail for something he didn’t do, but God was always with him. Once he got out of jail, he worked his way up the ranks in Egypt and was second in charge behind the Pharaoh. Joseph had a dream that there would be a famine for many years, so he stored extra food for all of Egypt. When the famine came, Egypt was prepared. When Jacob heard that Egypt had food, he sent his sons to go buy food for his family. When they got to Egypt, Joseph was selling the food and when his brothers came to buy the food he immediately recognized them. But they didn’t recognize him. Before they left he put the money and a gold cup in the bags of food they had bought. Once they had left he sent men to arrest them for stealing the food. When they returned they were put in prison and Joseph told some of his brothers to go bring back his youngest brother and he would believe them and let their other brothers free. When they returned with the youngest brother, Joseph began to cry and he told them who he was. He then told them to go get his father and the rest of his family so that they could live with him in Egypt. This story shows us that God can make our trouble opportunities later down the road. Joseph remained faithful to God during his life and God used him in a mighty way.

God places every hard time or trouble in our life for a reason. 2 Timothy 2:3 says, “Endure hardship with us like a good solider of Christ Jesus”. If we handle the situation right and let God lead us, He will help us through the though times. Many times God will put a trouble or hardship in our life and we don’t understand why. God uses the troubles we have in life as opportunities to make us a better Christian, or to even witness to others about him. When we do have troubles, we should look for what God is trying to do in the situation instead of complaining or blaming God.

My grandfather taught me to praise God in the difficult times of life.

-Brandon Broom