Good Roads Ahead

My granddaughter and I took a little trip the first of last week to visit my father for a few hours. I seldom get the chance anymore with a full schedule and the price of gasoline. My trip to his home in Brownsville always includes a stop at Sunny Glen Children’s Home in San Benito with clothes that have been donated to the church. With that stop to unload the van, the trip takes about four and a half hours one way, but over the years it seems to be a little less challenging. The state highway is slowly but surely being converted into an Interstate Freeway, which means there’s always construction somewhere along the way. It seems every time I travel south a new section has been completed or is soon to be, with new bridges that lift you up and over intersecting roads or new stretches of roadway that take you around and off of city streets, eliminating some of the dangers that cross traffic can pose to 70 m.p.h. travelers. It’s still the same amount of miles, a little less time (used to take 5 hours), but a lot less nerve racking.
Upon entering a little country store, the stranger noticed a sign reading, “DANGER! Beware of Dog” posted on the glass door. Inside, he noticed a harmless old hound dog asleep on the floor next to the cash register. He asked the man behind the counter, “Is that the dog folks are suppose to beware of?” “Yep, that’s him,” the man replied. The stranger couldn’t help but be amused. “That certainly doesn’t look like a dangerous dog to me. Why in the world did you post that sign?” “Because,” the owner explained, “Before I posted the sign, people kept tripping over him.”
[Matthew 6: 33] “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” On The Road To Forever is not just some catch phrase for my article, but something I believe in and something everybody ought to be thinking about every day. Each day of our life we are traveling to our Father’s house. Our number one priority in this life ought to be going to heaven. Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” While traveling down this road of life, are you traveling light, or are you dragging so much junk you’re holding up the people around you? Matthew 16: 26 “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” The highway department is always working on the roads we travel to make them last longer, be smoother, be safer, be more enjoyable and in many cases be faster. While traveling down this road to forever, are you allowing God to build a more comfortable life for you with bridges and bypasses that move you away from the dangers and evils of this world? John 14: 5-6 Thomas said to Him, “Lord we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” Jesus has gone to prepare a place for a prepared people; those who believe, are baptized in His name for the remission of their sins, and continue to live this life following His commands. The place He is preparing will exceed our wildest dreams. 1 Corinthians 2: 9, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” No matter which father I see next, I know at the end of the road, he will be waiting with open arms. Don’t let the world trip you up.

Fathers: New, Grand & Great

Happy Father’s Day! It’s called a holiday, but when compared to Mother’s Day it’s one with very little fan-fair, and I think for most fathers’ that’s just fine with them. I can only speak for myself, but to be pushed to the forefront, even for a day, seems a bit uncomfortable. Fathers are a very important part of family life and the examples set forth by them in everyday life and living mold and shape the lives of their children. For that reason most dads are happy with a quiet day because they simply don’t feel like the hero a special day imposes on them. All men want to be winners at anything they do, but fatherhood is one of those things that leave a lot of unanswered questions as to their success. Personally, I have to confess I’ve lived long enough to feel, though if I could go back I’d do a lot of things different, I can see some of myself in my children’s good lives. Still, I have to admit, I never minded being upstaged by their mother, the real hero.
“An Old Farmer’s Advice” Life is simpler when you plow around the stump; Words that soak into your ear are whispered, not yelled; Meanness don’t jes’ happen over night; Forgive your enemies …it messes up their head; A grudge is heavy, but it don’t take a very big person to carry one; You can’t unsay a cruel word; Every path has a few mud puddles; When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty; The best sermons are lived, not preached; God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts; Laugh every day, it’s like inner jogging; If you worry, you don’t pray …If you pray, you don’t worry; As a child of God, praying is like calling home every day; Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape; He who dies with the most toys …is still dead; Growing old is inevitable …growing up is optional; Do the math …count your blessings; There is no key to happiness. The door is always open; Faith is the ability to not panic.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A GOOD FATHER? Start Early And Work At It Regularly. (Proverbs 19:18) Set aside time for daily contact, practice the art of “being there”. Know How To Play And Work with Your Children. (Proverbs 22:6) Do not wait to involve them in adult games. They may not want to play with you then. The closer the father is with his children as infants, the easier he finds it to develop the relationship of a good parent. Learn How To Communicate. (Proverbs 1:8-9) “I talk to my kids all the time, but they never listen!” Sound familiar? Too often we tend to talk “AT” rather than “WITH” our children. Try to understand the child’s point of view in a given situation and reason with them as to the best solution. Discipline Your Children With Love And Understanding. (Proverbs 29:15,17 & Proverbs 13:24) Reacting to their wrongs with anger or uncontrolled hollering, slapping or unreasonable demands will prompt rebellion. Deal with them as you would want to be handled. If you resent your own actions, so will they. You are the authority of the home. Earn the respect of your children. Do not treat them like slaves who must obey with cringing fright. Above All (Ephesians 6:4) “And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” For all the fathers out there, new, grand and great, thanks for your love, concern, kindness, understanding and discipline, for with your example and guidance the fathers of tomorrow have a road easier to travel. Fathers, seek God’s guidance, for He too is a father and understands. Be proud. YOU, are a hero.

Investagate Your Feelings

Nowadays, things aren’t always as they seem to be. If you’re a reader, be skeptical of everything you read, except for the Sunday Comics and God’s Word, and sometimes I wonder about the comics. All of what we hear today may not be as real as it sounds. FM radio, the greatest thing since sliced bread in the late fifties, is rapidly being deleted after it’s fifty year run by HD Digital broadcasting. The old tunes resounding in the car sound better than ever before. I called the phone company a few weeks ago to report a problem on my line at work. Of course you don’t get to talk to a real person, but then again sometimes it’s better that way. Use to be one had to punch a lot of numbers when answering questions posed by the computer on the other end. Now the computer not only has a more pleasant voice, but recognizes simple human voice responses such as numbers, “yes”, “no” and phrase options given by the computer as possible answers to it’s question. Photographs are another thing. It’s hard to really know if a picture has or has not been altered. I have programs on my own computer that enable me to alter photos, and as an amateur I do pretty good at it. I was sent a NASA Probe photo of the Mars surface landscape. Appearing in the distance on one side someone had overlaid the unmistakable image of a Wal-Mart store. You’ve got to double check your senses nowadays and trusting your feelings is still a good policy for further investigation.
A father was voicing his displeasure at his teenage son’s frequent dating. “Did you go out with that same girl again?” “Yes, Dad,” the boy replied. “And just what did the evening cost?” “Three dollars,” said the teen. “Well, I’m proud of you, son,” the father announced. “But three dollars is not much to spend on a date.” “It was all she had, Dad.”
A Sunday school teacher was teaching her class about the difference between right and wrong. “All right children, let’s take another example,” she said. “If I were to get into a man’s pocket and take his billfold with all his money, what would I be?” Little Johnny raised his hand, and with a confident smile blurts out, “You’d be his wife!”
[Hebrews 2] It’s becoming more evident to me that man just doesn’t have the time, doesn’t want to find the time, to spend preparing for the next life. Maybe it’s because some believe that when you die = Game Over. But I’m beginning to believe that most think they have to prove their worthiness to God through works. If our selfish greed keeps promoting, “You got a lot = You are a lot”…”You got a little = You are a little” philosophy, we’re missing the boat. Somewhere, somehow God got a bad rap in the mind of most men. God is not a mean old man taking names and waiting for the day to come He can punish you for your wrong doings in this life. He proved that by becoming just like us and living life. I like what Max Lucado had to say about Jesus. “Jesus became angry enough to purge the temple, hungry enough to eat raw grain, distraught enough to weep in public, fun loving enough to be called a drunkard, winsome enough to attract kids…radical enough to be kicked out of town, responsible enough to care for his mother, tempted enough to know the smell of Satan, and fearful enough to sweat blood…” I can relate to that man and His resurrection is all I need to know that He is God and there is a life to come. There are no special box seats in heaven. Love for the Father, not works, is the price of admission. Feel a need to investigate the alternatives?

Is That Jesus Knocking?

Well, we finally got a good rain in parts of the countryside. I hope you got some, but I’m afraid it’s too little, too late for some people. I’m sure something good will come from the rain we did receive and we’ll be blessed with more soon. We sure had a few false alarms the past few months with thunder sounding off in the distance only to have the storm fizzle out just a few miles away. But the other day I had no doubt I was soon going to get wet. The wind and thunder demanded attention from every resident as the rain announced its impending arrival. The thunder and the wind tried to out do each other and I’ve got to tell you it started getting a little scary, if you know what I mean. That ugly, destructive weather nobody needs. Maybe it’s just we haven’t had a good thunderstorm in so long I forgot what they felt, sounded and looked like, I don’t know.
A nurse in the pediatric ward, before listening to the ‘little ones’ chests, would plug the stethoscope into their ears so they could listen to their own hearts. Their eyes would always light up with awe. But she never got a response to equal 4 year-old David’s. Gently she tucked the stethoscope into his ears and placed the disc at the other end over his heart. “Listen,” the nurse said. “What do you suppose that noise is?” He squinted his eyebrows together in a puzzled look. Then he tilted his head back staring straight up at the ceiling as if lost in the mystery of the strange tap-tap-tapping deep in his chest. Then his face broke out in a wondrous grin. “Is that Jesus knocking?”, he asked.
[1 Corinthians 15: 12-34] This Lord’s Day is remembered as the Day of Pentecost, the day of what I call “new beginnings”, because this was the day a totally new relationship began between God and mankind (John 14: 26). This is the day the Holy Spirit was given from God to all men of the world (Acts 2: 38), beginning with the twelve Apostles (Acts 2: 1-4; 10: 45). I don’t want to get too technical here, because this can be a lengthy study, but the Jewish Feast days of the time ended up with much meaning to the Gospel. The Passover Feast, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which started the next day, lasting seven days, and the Feast of Firstfruits, which began on the third day, happen to also be the three days we observe the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15: 1-11). The day of Firstfruits is very significant. On Passover, a marked sheaf of grain was bundled and left standing in the field. On the next day, the first day of Unleavened Bread, the sheaf was cut and prepared for offering to God the next day. On this third day the priest waved the sheaf before the Lord as an act of dedicating the harvest to Him. Firstfruits given to God; Jesus also arose from the dead on this day as a “first fruit” (1 Corinthians 15: 20-24). Well anyway, in the Greek, Pentecost means “50” and falls 50 days after Passover (seven Sabbaths plus one day, the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day). The Holy Spirit arrived from heaven with the noise like a violent, rushing wind and there appeared “tongues of fire” which distributed themselves, resting upon the twelve. I often wondered how scary that must have been. Peter preached the Gospel that day, three thousand were baptized receiving the Holy Spirit and were added to the church of our Lord, the beginning of the church. Those who believed Peter were “pierced to the heart”. There is no greater expression of love than for a man to give his life for another. Can you feel Jesus knocking on your heart?