Saturday, August 27, 2005

Let Go, In Faith

It has been said the only difference between an achiever and a non-achiever is that those who get things done aren’t afraid to ask for help. Getting the answer to a question or collecting information about any subject in the world is easy, and readily available today, to anyone seeking it. I don’t think there’s a product on the market that doesn’t have a 1-800 help line printed on the packaging and/or instruction sheet. If I’m not mistaken it’s the law that manufacturers must provide ready access to a consumer help line to answer questions. It’s also becoming rare that a manufacture doesn’t have a website URL printed on their packaging for access to more information than you really need. I often find myself on the phone talking with someone who’s got the answer I need to make my day. It has definitely become an information world and if you consider yourself an underachiever, it’s probably because you’re too proud to ask for help.
It seems a tiger was chasing a man through the jungle. Well, the man ran just as hard as he could and about to run out of energy he found he had actually run out of real-estate as he stood at the edge of a cliff. Looking over the edge he saw a branch protruding from the cliff wall just a few feet below, so jumped down, grabbing the branch, just in time to avoid the tigers maul. While assessing his situation the man was horrified to see a mouse appear from a crevice and begin chewing on the branch. The man looked down and the drop was about 1000 feet to a sure death if he fell. So, he did what you and I most often do when we’re in a situation we can see no way out of, he yelled, “Dear God, if you’re there please help! I will do anything you ask, but please help!” God replied, “You’ll do anything I ask?” The man answered back, “I’ll do anything, but please save me!” God told the man it would take courage and faith for him to be saved. The man said, “Tell me what I must do and I will do it. Your will is my will.” God replied, “All right then, let go of the branch.” Well, the man looked down at sure death, looked up at the hungry tiger and then at the mouse gnawing at the branch his life was hanging on and yelled out, “Is there anyone else up there I can talk to?”
[Hebrews 11: 1] Now, before you laugh too hard, take a look at your own life. What are you holding on to that’s keeping you from enjoying all the blessings that God has in store for you? Are you willing to let go? We read of many of the miraculous healings by Jesus, but I think most readers don’t realize that Jesus told everyone he healed that it was their faith that healed them. (Matthew 9: 28-31) For example, before Jesus healed a group of blind men He said to them, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” The greatest expression of faith, the same faith you and I must possess, is recorded in Matthew 8: 5-13 & Luke 7: 1-10, the healing of a centurion’s servant. The centurion sent word to Jesus apprising him of the situation and pleaded for the healing of his servant. The centurion never approached Jesus himself to speak, but by messenger and friends he asked Jesus to simply speak healing words and the deed would be done as he asked. Jesus stated He had never found such a great faith as this. The next time you call out to God in prayer, expect an answer. Look for the answer. It may not come in the way you expected, but it will be done to you according to your faith. Is God’s will truly your will also? Do not reject the healing, saving power of God’s Word. Satan is like a hungry lion.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

This World Is Not My Home

Have you tightened your belt yet? Going to the gas pump is about like experiencing that old ‘sticker shock’ thing when the price of vehicles took a huge jump. Where’s it all going to end? It’s not! Greed and selfishness is like a cancer and as it grows it just gets bigger and bigger. And like cancer, leave it alone and it will eventually destroy its host. On the other hand, attack it in an attempt to destroy it and the host is in for a lot of pain and sickness. This one thing I know is for certain. Transportation as we know it today is going to be a whole lot different in ten years. Our personal vehicles may look basically the same, but what’s under the hood is going to change completely. The children in grade school today will probably be required to have a masters degree in engineering and quantum physics just to work on vehicles in twenty years. Hydrogen is the fuel of the future and like electricity the small towns and rural communities will most likely be the last to get it. I’ll live long enough to see it, but probably won’t be able to afford it.
In 1957 people didn’t know what to expect next. Subjects such as these were being discussed. “I tell you if things keep going the way they are, it’s going to be impossible to buy a week’s worth of groceries for $20!” “Have you seen the price of next year’s cars? It won’t be long before they’re going to cost $5000!” “And the Post Office is thinking of charging 10¢, just to mail a letter!” “If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00 an hour, nobody will be able to hire any help.” “Whoever thought gasoline would cost 29¢ a gallon?” “I read the other day some scientists think we can put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some guys called astronauts training for it down in Texas.” “Did you see some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000.00 a year just to play ball? Before you know it, professional sports people will be making more than the President.” “It’s too bad that things are so hard on young families today. Even some women are going to work to help make ends meet.” “I don’t know, but I think letting that Volkswagen car into the country is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.” “You know it costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel?” “Nobody can afford to be sick anymore. $35 a day in the hospital is too much for me.” “And I’m telling you right now, I’m never going to pay more than 50¢ for a haircut!”
[James 5] I for one would like to be around for one hundred years, with decent health of course, just to see all the changes in the world. Over the years as my faith has grown and I look more intently to my heavenly home than to my own back yard, I guess I’ve become more an observer of the world than a partaker. I’m comfortable with what I have and I’m no different than anyone else, I’d like to have more, but how much is enough? God’s will for man is perfect, except we ignore most of it. Sure, we want to go to heaven, but we want to do it personal and private way. That’s not what God had in mind. He wants us to take His perfect love as a measuring tool to work on perfecting our own love. Our love is to be shown whenever the need arises. Our love is to be shown in everything we do or say. I’m not going to worry, walk around wringing my hands looking lost and mournful. Patience, prayer, love and the assurance that God is with me will carry me the rest of my days no matter what the changes in the world may be. I’m not trying to make this world my permanent home as so many others are trying to do.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Suspicious Packaging

This computer age is great, but one has to keep up with the technology or, like everything else in this world, get left behind. So, this past week I launched out to upgrade my operating system to the most commonly used (OS). I searched to find the most affordable upgrade, which will still make you nervous about purchasing it, and decided on a reputable and popular retailer. I started to install my purchase on my home computer when the program just wouldn’t accept the alphanumeric code that has to be entered from a sticker on the packaging. Needless to say I panicked. I was able to return the product for an exchange, which is one reason I chose the retailer I did. The extra trip to the big city didn’t set well with me, but I made up my mind I wasn’t going to take an attitude into the store. No questions were asked except did I want to exchange for another or have my money returned. I opted for an exchange. The exchange product was in a tamper proof plastic container unlike my original purchase. Ahhh-Ha!! I had been slipped a previously returned item. The exchange works just fine.
A young couple got married and went away on their honeymoon. After two weeks they returned to move into their new home together. One chore was to catalogue and put away all of the presents they received from friends and family. Since this was a new home the process of where to put everything took some time. A week later they received in the mail, two tickets for a popular show they wanted to attend but tickets were impossible to get. They were vey excited and warmed by the gesture of the person who sent this wonderful gift. Inside the envelope along with the tickets was a note, ‘Guess who sent you the tickets’. The couple had a lot of fun trying to identify the donor but failed in their efforts. They went to the theatre and had a wonderful time. On their return home late that night, still trying to guess the identity of their unknown host, they entered the house to find it had been stripped of every article of value. On the now vacant tabletop in the dining room a piece of paper lay with a note in the same handwriting as the note with the tickets. It simply read, ‘Now you know who sent you the tickets!’
[Matthew 7:15-20; Matthew24; Mark 13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11] While Jesus was teaching His disciples, he prophesized the destruction of the temple and the end of the Jewish age. He told them about how horrible a time that was going to be for everyone. He also warned that false prophets would appear claiming to be him, but to not believe. Many times over in the years since Jesus was witnessed rising up into the clouds, false Jesus’ have come forth claiming to have returned. Many still to this day believe Jesus will return to rule a kingdom on earth. I’ve yet to read about a new temple that will be built in Jerusalem preparing for His return to rule over the nations for a thousand years and he will give all people of the world a second chance to be saved. As you read the passages of scripture referred to, you’ll read of the true packaging of the return of Jesus. He will come when we least expect it. Not even Jesus knows when this will be. He will come in the clouds just as He left and everyone will see Him. I don’t read where He comes down to touch the earth. He will send angles to collect the elect, those who have been true to the scriptures. Then what was created will be destroyed. Do what the Bereans did, (Acts 17:11). Read it for yourself, to see if I’m telling the truth.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Don't Sell Yourself Short

The big push in the world of commerce right now is to sell automobiles, especially the land yacht, gas-guzzlers that the gasoline crisis of the ‘70s was suppose to eradicate. Well, because that push is on, if you’re in the market for a new car or truck there happens to not only be good buys at the top end of the product line but also some great buys at the bottom end. Of course it’s like momma always said, “You only get what you paid for in the long run”, and I’ve always found that to be true. I do a lot of shopping and comparing on the Internet these days, having to conform the best I can to tight budget restraints. It takes a little time but when I get to the very bottom line cheapest price of a product I have to start looking at what sacrifices I have to except and still get the functional product I was looking for in the first place. You know, how many bells and whistles can I do without and still have what I want. Does it have to be gold-plated or silver-plated or chrome-plated or can it be painted and still be the same? Be real careful when shopping on line and read everything twice. You don’t want your product expectations to crumble just because you didn’t order all the bells and whistles you need.
So God asked Adam, “What’s wrong with you lately?” Adam replied, “I’m tired of working so hard. I’m bored with the same old stuff every day and I ain’t got nobody to talk to.” God told Adam he would make him a companion and that it would be a woman. God said, “This person will gather food for you, cook it for you and serve it to you. When you discover clothing she will weekly wash and repair it for you. She will always agree with every decision you make. She will bear your children and never ask you to get up in the middle of the night to take care of them. She will never nag you and will always be the first to admit that she was wrong when you’ve had a disagreement. She will never have a headache and will freely give you love and passion whenever you want it.” Adam asked God, “What will this woman cost me?” God replied, “An arm and a leg.” Adam thought, and then asked, “What can I get for a rib?” The rest is history.
[Luke 14: 16-33] Please don’t label me a chauvinist pig; it’s just a joke. The point I want to bring out is the same point Jesus was bringing out. In the long run, a man gets what he pays for. Do you truly want eternal life with the creator of all things? Just what are you willing to pay for it? Guess what? You have no choice! There is no employee discount. You can’t buy a ticket online, first-class, coach or economy, not even standby. There’s no salesman to negotiate with as to what you want to do, or don’t want to do, to get to heaven. Jesus says that God has prepared a wonderful place for each and every one of us to live forever. He doesn’t want to hear any excuses from us as to why we can’t get ready to go there. The cost? Be willing to give up everything, even life itself, to the allegiance of Jesus. Do you know there are people in the world today faced with the threat of imprisonment and even death because of their belief that Jesus is the son of the living God, and that He died for the sins of the world? Their belief has brought them to baptism for the forgiveness of their sins and their faith has them prepared for death and a home with God for eternity. Families and friends are separated and even murdered, but their faith is not destroyed. Jesus says that’s the full price. Are you willing to give it all up for a home in heaven? Count the cost. God says you’re either in or you’re out.