Saturday, February 25, 2006

It Was Done for You

Hallelujah!! I got my vehicle transmission done! It got to a point I didn’t know if it was going to shift anymore and definitely afraid it was going to just quit working all together leaving me stranded in the middle of the road somewhere. A long time ago my father instilled in me that no matter your knowledge you’re probably going to have the need for a good trustworthy mechanic to do any major repair work, so always try to keep a good working relationship with one throughout your life. Well, that’s one piece of advice I did adhere to and like a trustworthy personal physician or best friend, a good mechanic is priceless at times. In this case I have the basic knowledge of the workings of an automatic transmission, but I needed a specialist to perform the operation to restore it to like new condition. Just getting it out of and back into the vehicle is a chore in its self, but the gazillion parts that make up the clockworks of an automatic transmission forces me to turn the job over to someone who knows how, saving me from disaster.
A severe potato famine in the nineteenth century motivated many Irish to come to the New World to find new opportunities. One desperate teenage boy, not having money for fare to board a ship to the New World, secretly boarded as a stow-away. The ship, unfortunately, hit an iceberg, began to sink and passengers started filling lifeboats escaping to safety. At first the boy, who had been hiding in the hull of the ship, was not aware of what was going on. When he realized what was happening, he rushed up to the deck just in time to see the captain taking the last seat in the last lifeboat. Then, in the highest tradition of the sea, the captain got out of the lifeboat and gave the boy his seat. As the lifeboat pulled away the captain said to the boy, “Never forget what’s been done for you.” The young man became successful in the New World and when asked the secret of his great motivation he would always answer, “Whenever I begin to doubt or let up from what I ought to be doing, I always remember a captain standing on the deck of a sinking ship professing, Never forget what’s been done for you.”
[Hebrews 11:6] (NAS) And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him. It is said that we’re all riding in the same boat, so it’s imperative that we all try our best to get along. Unfortunately we’re all on a ship that has struck an iceberg called sin, our ship is sinking and there isn’t a thing we can do about it. Like passengers aboard the unsinkable Titanic, some refuse to believe that the ship is doomed to destruction and all the explanations of the failures of the internal workings of the ship won’t change their mind, until their feet start getting wet. Then there are those who calmly listen to the captain, as He explains that there is one lifeboat, and unlike the Titanic, this lifeboat is capable of saving every single passenger. Yes, life aboard this planet earth is going to end for each and every one of us one day; statistically speaking 1:1 are going to die. Have you looked for the lifeboat yet? Let me put it this way. God has done everything in His power to show us His love and present to us His saving grace. He points to the cross of Calvary and says, “Never forget what’s been done for you!” I don’t totally understand all the workings of salvation, and maybe never will. But Jesus has already performed that operation for you and me. Faith is the lifeboat that will take us home. …Priceless!

Saturday, February 18, 2006

A Riddle

I’m normally not one to knock the media for doing its job of reporting the events around me that can, and sometimes do, affect my life. I know that without the media we would be a lot more blind and ignorant of the activities of our leaders and of world affairs, but sometimes reporters just aren’t satisfied with reporting the facts, because though it may be a story that needs to be told, the story just isn’t juicy enough. Let me put it this way. How would you feel if you accidentally shot your friend? What’s the first thing you’d do? Call the newspaper? Call a radio or TV station? This sort of accident, and as embarrassing as it is, it’s still an accident, happens hundreds of times a year in this country, and most people don’t even know it. But, because the vice-president is involved, what reporter is willing to be satisfied with simply reporting the facts and the true remorse expressed by the vice-president? If the facts were reported with a little optimism instead of theatrical skepticism, I think we’d have a lot less depression in this world. Unfortunately, some good reporters have some really bad habits. Enough of that, let me put my soapbox away. Watch your thoughts; They become your words. Watch your words; They become your actions. Watch your actions; They become your habits. Watch your habits; They become your character. Watch your character; It becomes your destiny.
I’ve got a “Riddle” for ya. I’m your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden. I will push you outward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly. I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically. I am the servant of all great people and alas, of all failures as well. Those who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a person. You may run me for profit or run me for ruin - it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you. Who am I?
[Galatians 5: 13-26] I’ve been hearing a song on the radio lately, I believe sung by Bette Midler, “From A Distance”, about how we deal with things of the world as we view them from a distance and then again up close. The refrain (chorus) of the song says… “God is watching us from a distance”. That struck me as being very sad to think that God is simply observing and “reporting” our actions. And maybe that’s why most people feel they can deal with life in different ways depending on the circumstances. “I can do what pleases me, even though I know it isn’t right, and as long as I do something good later on to off set it, God will be pleased.” As hard as it may be to understand, God, like any hard-nosed reporter, wants to be in ever aspect of your life. God wants you to know right from wrong and live a righteous life, full of love and void of conflict. My God sees to it that I feel guilt and remorse for the selfish deeds I conduct in my life. But, unlike badgering “I got’cha” reporters, God is forever accepting my confession and forgiving my sins. Are fruits of the spirit growing in me? You bet! His truth draws me out of the world, but God isn’t done with me yet. Oh, the answer to the riddle: HABIT

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Things That Make You Go, Hmmmm

This past week has been a challenge to say the least. It started with the old man in me jumping out growling and snapping in a frustrated moment. Quit inappropriate and uncalled for, but God’s not finished with me yet. Yes, I’m making amends. Then a co-worker, who had been slowly returning to his duties around the plant, following his recovery from a broken hip, took a tumble and broke his other hip. Soooo, he’s back in the hospital and probably looking at another good three to four months before he’s back to where he was at the first of last week. The transmission in my vehicle is about to crater, actually it’s dying a slow death every mile that’s added. I was hoping to get it into the shop, but as things can go, my mechanic got behind with a couple of jobs that just didn’t want to go right. I’ve been there and experienced all that. He’ll get it this week, I hope. I still have two habits I’ll probably never rid myself of. One is I have a hard time saying NO. So, as a friend puts it, my plate is full most all the time. The other, as I look around my office, is, I keep dragging stuff home for use in some future, as of yet, unknown date. If I would just file some of it away, but I always want to re-read everything and run myself out of time. Oh well, I do enjoy being busy and reading some inspirational quips and stories seems to bring me back into the light of understanding.
I found this while sorting a pile of papers. It’s a list of sayings found on church building marquees. The Best Vitamin For A Christian Is B1. Under The Same Father & Son Management For Nearly 2000 Years. SOUL FOOD SERVED HERE. Tithe If You Love Jesus; Anyone Can HONK! Don’t Give Up! Moses Was Once A Basket Case. TO BELITTLE IS TO BE LITTLE. What Part Of: “THOU SHALT NOT” Don’t You Understand? Can’t Sleep? Try Counting Your Blessings. NEVER GIVE THE DEVIL A RIDE; HE ALWAYS WANTS TO DRIVE. Satan Subtracts And Divides; God Adds And Multiplies. Prevent TRUTH Decay. Brush Up On Your Bible. CHRISTIANS KEEP THE FAITH, BUT NOT FROM OTHERS. Life Has Many Choices. Eternity Has Two. What’s Yours? It’s Hard To Stumble When You’re On Your Knees. A Clear Conscience Makes A Soft Pillow. Forbidden Fruits Create Many Jams. GOD ANSWERS KNEE-MAIL.
[2 Peter 1: 3-11] (NIV) These quick quips are posted in hopes that passers-by will take the notion to say, “Hmmmm” and think about their eternal future. In the light of my little stumble I went back to the checklist provided by Peter as to the progress of my Christian walk. And when I go through this list (v 5-7) I have to agree with what he says in v.8, when I fail in any of these areas I become unproductive as a witness to my Lord and Savior. In most areas I can confidently say I show Christ, but in a few I still stumble more often than I would like, yet a whole lot less than in earlier times. To admit it, my weakest points are self-control and brotherly kindness. How we all can fly off the handle for the least little reason sometimes and we also have a tendency to be talking about others. But Peter says to keep trying. This Christian lifestyle came to us through hearing about it from someone and we’ve elected to join in. No one has forced it upon us. So, the world and our sinful nature are always trying to drag us away from it. I don’t about you, but I’m working hard toward that “rich welcome into the eternal kingdom” one day.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Liberal Misery

It seems of late there isn’t a newscast or publication that doesn’t contain something about injuries to a child by the hands of an adult. It makes you stop and wonder what’s happening to our society. I think the problems involving child abuse are becoming more severe and we’re hearing more about them because the media is doing it’s best to present the problem to the public, making everyone aware of the situation. So just what is happening? I think some are getting so wrapped up in trying to “feel good” that anything involving a little stress or prolong personal attention is producing rage and violence. Why are the minds of people becoming unstable and their thoughts irrational? In many abuse cases, it’s determined that drugs and/or alcohol are playing a big role. What’s the solution? Well, there are a lot of smart people working on it, but for me, I see a great loss in the ethics on which this country was founded. Self-gratification is a monster!
Many years ago a group of atheists decided to show the world what a fine civilization could be had, if only (and this is the way they put it) the “superstitions of Christianity” were outlawed. They founded the little town of Liberal, Missouri. They boastfully advertised it as the only town of its size in the United States that didn’t have a preacher, a priest or a church. It didn’t have God, Jesus Christ, hell or the devil. A few months later the St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried a lengthy article about the little town. It showed that, as a matter of fact, there was little else in the town except the devil. Its hotels had become houses of prostitution. Gambling, stealing and killing were essentially the standard conduct of the town. The newspaper article was so frightful the men of Liberal had Clark Braden, the author of the story, arrested for criminal libel. They also brought suit against the Post-Dispatch for $25,000. In the trial though, the evidence was so overwhelming that the jury took only a few minutes to render a verdict in favor of the defendant. The suit was dismissed and the town of Liberal, Missouri had to pay all court costs. It wasn’t long after that, before even life-long atheists themselves moved from the town in absolute disgust. Asked why, one of them confessed, “An infidel surrounded by Christians may spout his infidelity and he is able to stand it, but living and raising children in a town of atheists is too horrible to contemplate.”
[2 Timothy 3] “Get God out of our schools!!” “Keep religion out of politics!!” “God Bless America!!” It just doesn’t add up to a positive ideal. To reap the benefits of a God-blessed community, God has to be in the community; the whole community. I’m not advocating that Bible scripture be taught and quoted, becoming a third language to all. But the principles of God’s word aren’t even being stressed and practiced anymore. Do you and your family want to live in a safe and moral environment? Then lets get back to teaching and practicing moral and ethical values. Are you trustworthy and honest? Are you a responsible person in all you do? Do you respect the thoughts and feelings of others? Do you show a sense of fairness when dealing with others? Are you caring, compassionate, kind, loving, considerate and charitable? Are you a good citizen helping where you can and respecting authority? Do those things sound religious to you? They are principles of righteous Godly living. They are principles that can bring about change in life and lifestyle. Changed individuals can change communities. God is Love!