Sunday, March 29, 2009

Growing In Knowledge

I’m in the process of upgrading my computers and learning some new computer programs, pretty much a challenge for anyone. Just upgrading the operating programs can at times be a headache. One gets used to a certain way of rapidly working along, but the upgrade has a few new twists (improvements) that take time to get used to. Well, the upgrades were needed to accommodate some totally new unfamiliar programs I will be using on a regular basis. As it’s been said time and again, if we’re not learning, we’re not growing, we’re dying. I seem to be growing all the time, but not from knowledge.

I often get emails titled, “Things I’ve Learned” and most of the time the statements contained within are truthful and reflective of an honest life. “I’ve learned ...the best classroom in the world is sitting at the feet of an elderly person; that being kind is more important than being right; that you should never say no to a gift from a child; that I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the means to help them in some other way; that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with; that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes; that we should be thankful that God doesn’t give us everything we want; that money doesn’t buy class; that under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved; that the Lord didn’t do it all in one day, so why should I think I can; that to ignore the facts doesn’t change the facts; that love, not time, heals all wounds; that the easiest way for me to grow is to surround myself with people smarter than I am; that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile; that life is tough, but with God, I’m tougher; that the less time I have to work with, the more I get done; that when I harbor bitterness, happiness docks somewhere else and, that I can’t always chose how I feel, but I can chose what I do about it.” More to come some other day.

A father was home alone with his two-year-old daughter while his wife was out shopping. The daughter had received a ‘tea set’ as a gift and it had become her favorite toy. While her father watched the news on TV, she offered him a ‘cup of tea’, which was, of course, just water. The daughter brought daddy several cups of tea which he was ‘thankful for such yummy tea’ after drinking each miniature cup. When his wife returned home he encouraged her to linger in the room to see the cute thing their daughter was doing. Sure enough, here she came with another ‘cup of tea’. After watching her husband drink the ‘cup of tea’ she commented, “Did it ever occur to you the only place she could reach any water is in the toilet?” I’ll bet he could just die.

[2 Timothy 2] The chapter contains advice from Paul to Timothy on the attitude one must have to serve Christ as a minister of the gospel. I feel everyone who claims to be a follower of Christ is a minister of the gospel and should live in such a way that their life preaches Jesus and the grace of God. Jesus clearly stated to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36) Paul’s greatest advise to Timothy is to keep worldly things out of the church, for they will destroy God’s truth. Do you study God’s word? Are you adapting His word to your way of living? If you’re learning spiritually, you’re growing spiritually. If not, you’re dying my friend, an eternal death.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

He's In All Things

Haven’t we been having some beautiful weather the past few days? Dark, gloomy, overcast and a cold north wind filled with a constant drizzle of rain. Just exactly what we’ve been praying for. A week ago there was a lot of indecision about spending time planting anything in the ground due to the lack of moisture and not wanting to risk the capital it would take in these uncertain economic times. This morning at coffee, one man said he was ready to plant just as soon as the rain stops and it dries up a bit. Go figure. Planting and seeds were always a mystery to me and the faith of a farmer, to say the least, always impressed me. First off, a seed has to be dead and dry before you can even use it. Then, what comes from the seed is a tremendous return and an impressive display of its strength. Take the watermelon seed for example. No bigger than a pinky fingernail, and if you figure it out, weighing in at about 4500 seed per pound, what it does for a living staggers the imagination. When introduced to proper soil and moisture content combined with warmth and sunshine, the little watermelon seed takes off its coat and goes to work. It gathers, from somewhere, 200,000 times its own weight and forces that enormous weight through its tiny stem to build another watermelon of its own kind. Not only that, it builds several on a single stem vine. The outside of each melon has a covering of green, within that a rind of white, and within that a core of red. And scattered throughout the core of red are hundreds of tiny seeds, each one capable of doing the same work over again. Who developed this plan? Where did that little watermelon seed get its tremendous strength from? Where did the melon get its color and flavor from and how does it pass it on to the next melon? ...Mysteries of life.
Did you hear about the new groom who asked his wife as he arrived home from work, “And what has my bride been doing all day?” With a proud wide smile she answered, “I filled the salt shaker.” Puzzled the groom asked, “And that took all day?” “It certainly did”, she said. “It’s not easy getting the salt through those little holes!”
One Sunday, little Johnny attended a new Sunday school class. Naturally his parents wanted to know how he liked it. “Real good”, he said. His mother asked, “Who was your teacher?” “ I don’t know her name”, replied the boy, “but I think she must be Jesus’ grandmother.” With a little giggle his father asked, “Why do you say that?” Seriously the boy explained, “The way she bragged about Jesus, she must be his grandmother.”
[Psalm 104] Until you can explain the watermelon, do not be too sure you can set limits on the power of the Almighty, or tell just what he will do and how He will do it. The most learned men in the world cannot explain the watermelon, but the most ignorant man in the world can eat the watermelon, and enjoy it. God has given us all the things we need and He has given us the knowledge to use what He has provided. And the truth that He has revealed to us is infinitely more important for our welfare than it would be to understand the mysteries that he has seen fit to conceal from us. The inspired words of the writer of the book of Hebrews, (Hebrews 4: 12-13) tells of the power found in God’s Word (the Bible). “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Can you ever be where God is not? ...Peace.

Saturday, March 07, 2009

A Healthy Life

I guess I’ve come to the point in life where it’s noticeable the body is failing and the will to attempt preserving it kicks in. Yes, it’s not all aging that’s showing up, but the fact that, like most of us, I plain and simply didn’t take care of myself over the years past. Neglect and abuse may seem like nothing at the time, but down the road a toll will certainly have to be paid. In hindsight, I’ve concluded, I probably took better care of my vehicles, at times, than I did myself. Well, the good news is I’ve come to my senses and made a pact with myself to get healthy and strive to keep that way for a long as possible, hopefully for many, many years to come. Two things I’ve already invested in are diet and my teeth. I think the more my teeth ached and hurt, the more I ate because since I’ve had extensive work done I find myself not wanting to snack all the time. I guess it’s like other aches and pains, if you put pressure in it, it seems to comfort the area. Maybe I’m just nuts, but that brings me to another promise to myself, cut out the sugar intake! I started looking at my daily snacking and found most of it consisted of sweets and fats. So, I’ve decided that my sweets will come from fruits and the fats will simply have to go or at least be reduced as much as possible. I’ve been working on this since the first of the year, seriously the past two months, and I’m losing weight and feeling more energetic. If I hold true the promises I made to myself, I’m going to add greatly to my life all around.
Part of a discussion between two secretaries overheard by another... “I’ve started a new exercise program. I do 20 sit-ups each morning. That may sound like a lot, but you can only hit that snooze button so many times before you have to force yourself out of bed.” In a related discussion between two men ... “I joined a health club last year for about $400, but haven’t lost a pound yet. Apparently, I was supposed to go there.” Part of another conversation overheard in a coffee shop took a patron by surprise... “My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. Now she’s 97-years-old and we don’t know where she is.” It’s a fact. Walking can add weeks to your life. This enables you, at 84-years-old, to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5000 per month. An elderly man, for the first time in his life, entered the hospital for treatment. One of the first meals served to him included a bowl of quivering gelatin. He refused to eat it. His explanation? “I’m not eating anything more nervous than I am.”
[Hebrews 8: 1-13 & 10: 1-18] A covenant is an agreement between two parties; a solemn promise or vow. If you’ve ever borrowed money, you entered into a covenant (contract) with the lending institution to repay the money within a set period of time. You agreed to make payments at given intervals with the promise that when the contract was fulfilled you would be forgiven your debt. Mankind has been separated from God because of man’s disobedience (sin) toward God’s will for him. Man just can’t seem to follow the rules all the time, thinking his ways are superior to that of his Creator. God’s love for mankind has never faltered and since the beginning God has presented man with rules and regulations, that when followed, would bring the two back together. God honored His early earthly physical promises, with those who obeyed, and the spiritual promises to come, life eternal, He will honor in the last day, for all who obey. A healthy life-after-death is found only in Jesus; only for baptized, sin forgiven, obeying believers.