RKS SCOTUS Response

Yesterday the Supreme Court of the United States handed down it’s decision concerning President Obama’s health care plan…..

Of course I personally was disappointed….

Most recognize the hefty economic impact it will have on every American…..

This political hot potato will be around for some time….

With all of this I have a few of simple thoughts…..

#1  God still sits upon His thrown.  He continues to be in charge of the affairs of men.  He continues to answer prayer.  In short……He is still God!!!

#2  His grace is sufficient for me.  He will help each of us navigate the uncharted path we take just as he helped the children as they “moved to Egypt”, “lived in Egypt” and as they “left Egypt”….His grace is sufficient!!!

#3   Jehovah Jireh, the Lord is our provider!  Never forget this…..

#4    Some trust in chariots and horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord.  Our salvation is not in man nor government. 

Our trust is in Him….

#5   We are but travellers and sojourners in this world.  Old song said, “this world is not my home, I’m just passing through”……

#6   He knows the way we take……we shall come forth as gold!!!

#7   His church will survive and thrive!!!

#8   Prayer changes things!!!

#9   I refuse to be distracted by the mundane…..

#10  One day soon, the trump of God shall sound, the heavens will open and we will all go to be with him in the air. I find comfort in these words…..

Therefore my reader and follower friends, please understand…..

The sky is not falling….

There is not time for Chicken Little or the chicken hearted…..

Go out there and face the world with your faith intact and your prayer life strong…..

Who knows, but your next prayer might be the one that triggers the Master to say….

Gabriel, blow your horn!!!

rks    

51 Ain't Bad

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

51 ain’t bad…..

I don’t feel nearly as old as some as my friends look…..

I don’t act nearly as old as some of them do….

Them guys embarrass me……

We all used to talk about wine, women & song…..

Now it is blood pressure, cholesterol and Lord help if one of us had surgery…….

We brag about our scars……

But 51 ain’t bad……

I only had to take 23 vitamins this morning……

My kids think I am old…..

But what do they know?

I think they are punks…..

Tracie thinks I seasoned and urbane and sophisticated and smart and…..

And…..

I was gonna say hot, but at our age hot means something way differernt than it used to…..

Anyway….

I am blessed with a most beautiful wife, two stellar kids, daughter n law that is giving me a President for a grand boy next month…..

A great church and wonderful home……

A killer guard poodle…..

And happiness beyond measure…..

51 ain’t bad……

I think I might can do…..

102……

rks

Sunday Night Drink

Sunday I spent the afternoon seeking the Lord for the evening service….

I had a nice little thought, outlined, saved to jpg and dropped into Dropbox and then retrieved on the iPad and opened in GoodReader…..

Whatever happened to a piece of paper scribbled on and folder up in a reverend’s bible?

Anyway,

I…..

I, the Right Reverend R Kent Smith was Ready to Roll…..

But in the prayer time before service I started getting real thirsty…..

Thirsty for a deep drink from the well of heaven…..

I could see David looking down over Bethlehem and longing for a drink from Jacob’s well……

Then I could see some mighty men breaking through and bringing him a drink……

So, instead of the outlined, Dropboxed, GoodReader’d sermon ……

I simply read 2 Samuel 23:15…..

And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!  And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem……

I closed my bible and simply told the folks that this was how I was feeling…..

I was longing for a deep drink of the spirit of the Lord….

And then asked if anybody could hear my longing and would be willing to break thru……

One man, two, then a host of mightly men came and prostrated themselves in the floor and sought the Lord for a good season……

Some of those mighty men will be joining me in 4 hours at 6 a.m. to press for break thru again…..

Even had some mighty women call and ask if they could come…..

Now I feel like David again and want to poor out that sweet drink to the Lord because I am no way worthy of the mighty men and mighty women of CUPC…….

rks

My Kinda Folks

Some folks are against what you are against.  Therefore they will be with you as long as you continue to be against what they are…..

Some will be for what you are for, hence they will be along side you as long as you are for the same things….

However, some folks are for you.  They want you to succeed.  They want to you achieve.  They want your dreams to come true. Your dream is theirs.  They will be with you in thick or thin,  Good or bad.  For better or for worse….

This third group is the folks I pray I find in CUPC and any other place I have a voice…..

rks

The Father of All Things Smith

My Dad, the Right Rev Ronald W Smith drove truth into our hearts…

Today his 3 sons stand in pulpits….

3 grandsons actively pursue callings and giftings…..

There is a batch of young grandsons who one day will as well……

By July there will be 3 great grandsons whom will no doubt burn with the same passion….

Dad is responsible for all of this….

All of this selfless desire to pursue the kingdom of God…..

This passion has become generational…..

While we tease and get teased about this Smith loyalty thing…..

I give honor to my Dad today….

Who is the father of all things Smith to us……

rks

R & R & R & R

Circumstance and time define many things for us….

Friends are one of those evolving definitions….

There is an unseen line that exists between friends and acquaintances….

Somewhere in the last couple of years or so, that line was breached…

Breached by Tracie and her friend Renee….

These two girls were acquainted but they crossed the line….

They crossed the line to friendship…..

The kind of friendship that prompts calls and shared prayers….

The girls drug their husbands on the journey….

In this process…..

Rick & Renee & Kent & Tracie became friends….

The kind of friends that allow walls down we have visited each others houses….

We all love our churches….

We love our families…..

We love our boats…..

We find more common than we find different…..

While visiting Conroe a few days ago Rick & Renee insisted Tracie and I come to Dallas and then go on an R & R with them…

So we went to church with them Wednesday night and then took off to Possum Kingdom Resort…..

You need to visit Possum Kingdom…..

This kingdom of possums is incredible…..

Anyway…..

Tracie and I have enjoyed the trip…..

More so the relationship…..

So rest & relaxation & rick & renee were the perfect week…..

God knows just who and when to put in our lives….

R & R & R & R

rks

A Debt We Cannot Repay

8 weeks ago today……

Our Annaleigh left our world to His…..

We miss her…..

Our family is eternally in debt for the gift given by thousands….

The gift of love….

We cannot repay you….

So we pass it on to another….

rks