2011 Resolute

I got called an “Old Timer” the other day and I almost took offence to it, but then a funny thing happened – wisdom kicked in. Hey, an old timer is one who remembers when people aimed to get to heaven instead of the moon. In the old days, when I was growing up, the dirtiest four-letter word I ever heard was - WORK. I’m not there yet, but I’ve been told the difference between the old and the young – The old forget and the young don’t know. Well, I’m not burnt out yet and I’m not about to give up my old timey ways for the sake of being politically correct or socially tolerant. In fact I’m going to work harder at pleasing God in 2011 and becoming wiser for the future.
We are blessed to have reached this point in life. Having survived another year we need to concentrate on making the most of the one before us. * Live for the day and those yet to come. Like Paul, “…forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Too much of life is wasted looking back, regretting failures, mistakes and lost opportunities. Such accomplishes nothing and it robs us of the time and energy to be productive in the days we do have. * Resolve to set your house in order, beginning today. Today is the beginning of the rest of your life. Make the most of it you can. From now on, put first things first (Matthew 6:33). * Remember your Creator (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). Demonstrate that love by seeking His will for your life. Search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11) and make every effort to obey them to the best of your abilities (Matthew 7:21). * If you have not already, commit your life to Christ. Enlist in His sacred cause. Proudly take the name Christian and make His church a vital part of your daily life. Give it precedence over social clubs, sports and recreation. While these may have some merit, none compare with Christ’s church. When the time come to leave earth’s realm it is to the church you will look to close the final chapter of your life and commend your soul to God. * Do all the good you can to all the folks you can. At best we have only a few years left. Resolve to use every day to serve your fellow man. Jesus said “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). Good, done in the name of Christ, is treasure laid up in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). * Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17), thanking God for the blessings you have enjoyed and must have to survive even one day. * Tell everyone you know about the marvelous Savior who has so enriched your life. Share the joy you have found in Christ. Urge them to, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:8). * Live in peace with God and man, relishing every hour, joyfully awaiting the day when He will call you home (2 Peter 11-14). Life boils down to this: “…Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. "For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 24:37-40). When it comes to serving each other physically and spiritually, “All we have to give - is - all we have to give.” Are you willing to give up your selfish social status for the comforts of heavenly wisdom?

Peace

It’s that time of the year when emotions can run amok triggered by all the things one would like to accomplish with perfection in mind. Holiday decorating, gift buying, meal preparations and arranging accommodations for visiting out-of-town guests is enough to weigh anybody down to a point of short circuiting and blowing a fuse. I’ve seen it happen more than once in my life only to realize that no matter how perfect one thinks things are going, somebody gets their feelings hurt because your perfection doesn’t fit their mold. All I can say is, do it your way. If things don’t work out find a way to get the biggest complainer to do all the work next year, that’ll learn ‘em. In all seriousness, I hope your plans are all coming together for this holiday season and you enjoy a very merry Christmas and the beginning of a great new year. And as I always try to remind the world, don’t forget the reason for the season. The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us, bringing the message of peace and saving grace from our Father in heaven. Jesus is the name above all names. He is peace.
A beautiful young girl walked up to the counter in a department store. “I want to buy this fabric for a new dress I’m making as a gift to a friend. How much will it cost?” “Only one kiss per yard” replied the smirking young clerk. “That’s fine” said the girl. “I’ll take ten yards.” With expectation and anticipation all over his face the clerk quickly measured out and cut the cloth. As he held out the package to the girl expecting payment, the girl snapped up the package and pointed to a little old man standing near her and said to the clerk, “Grandpa is paying the bill today.”
In a Christian school, the teacher of a second grade class was attempting to get the students to memorize the names of the twelve sons of Jacob before Christmas break. Bobby came to the front of the room to recite his memory, “Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin… Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.”
A burglar broke into a house to steal Christmas. He shined his flashlight around looking for valuables. Then a voice in the dark said, “Jesus knows you’re here.” He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his light off and froze. He heard nothing so continued. As he pulled out the stereo to disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard, “Jesus is watching you.” Freaking out he shined his light around looking for the source of the voice. The light rested on a parrot in the corner of the room. “Did you say that?” he hissed at the parrot. “Yup” said he parrot. “I’m just trying to warn you, Jesus is watching you.” The burglar relaxed. “Warn me huh? Who do you think you are?” “Moses”, said the parrot. “Moses” laughed the burglar. “Who names a parrot Moses?” The parrot smugly replied, “The same people that named their Rottweiler, Jesus.”
[Matthew 1: 18-25] Have you ever thought about the tongue wagging that went on concerning Joseph? The Bible says he was a righteous man and Mary was pledged to be married to him. Joseph was most likely planning for marriage, saving some money, having dinner at her parent’s house and getting to know his future wife as they visited and talked about the future. To his surprise, and everyone else’s, Mary is with child. An angel explained everything to Joseph, which he accepted, and took Mary into his home as his wife. As obedient to the Lord as Joseph was, still, think of the ridicule he endured about his first born. Life isn’t always as we dreamed, but God is always peace.

Twenty-five Years

As I have recently written about time seeming to sprout wings as life progresses, I discover twenty-five years has passed since my wife, Paula, and I said, “I does”. I had been dragging my feet for over a year and marriage really wasn’t on the top of my to-do list. One day she approached me with the idea and after washing my hands and combing my hair, she made me change my shirt too, we went to the courthouse where a judge pronounced us husband and wife. A lot of water has gone under, and over, the bridge since then and as a lot of men can attest to about a loving, faithful wife, without her in my life I probably wouldn’t be worth spitting on. I didn’t make it easy for her to domesticate me, she almost gave up once, but I think she’s done a pretty good job of bringing me to my senses and raising me up out of the pig slop. I don’t know if we have another twenty-five years in us, but I do pray we will share life until death do we part. We were two ships passing in the storm who just can’t navigate alone anymore.
After a few years of wedded bliss you get to know your spouse fairly well. An old story has been told about Jake who drove over to the next county to buy a bull for the farm. It cost more than expected and he was left with only one dollar. Since he needed to let his wife know she could come and get the bull with the truck and telegrams cost a dollar a word, he thought for a while then said, “Go ahead and make it just this one word – comfortable.” “How’s that going to get your point across?” asked the clerk. “Don’t worry”, said Jake. “She’s not the greatest reader. She’ll say it real slow.”
A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. Their domestic tranquility had long been the talk of the town. A local newspaper reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage. “Well, it dates back to our honeymoon”, explained the man. “We visited the Grand Canyon and took a trip down to the bottom of the canyon by pack mule. We hadn’t gone too far when my wife’s mule stumbled. She quietly said, “That’s once”. We proceeded a little farther when the mule stumbled again. Once more my wife quietly said, “That’s twice”. We hadn’t gone a half a mile when the mule stumbled a third time. My wife promptly removed a revolver from her purse and shot the mule dead. I started to protest over her treatment of the mule when she looked at me and quietly said, “That’s once”’.
Bill: “Where you going on vacation?” Bob: “Yellowstone National Park.” Bill: “Don’t forget Old Faithful.” Bob: “Oh, I wouldn’t leave home without her.”
[Proverbs 18: 22] “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” Troubles in marriage often start when a man gets so busy earning his salt he forgets his sugar… Too many couples marry for better or worse, but not for good… When a man marries woman, they become one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one! Remember, just because many couples “harp at each other” doesn’t mean that their marriage is made in heaven. (House to House / Heart to Heart) “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) “A foolish son is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping. Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.” (Proverbs 19: 13-14) My wife is a gift from the Lord I do not deserve, no doubt. The Spirit has written of her and countless like her. (Proverbs 31: 10-31) Praise God!

Taking Out The Trash

I grew up in a small town in Yankee-land where we had all the services of treated water, sewage and garbage pick-up. But I can also remember visiting some friends and grandparents who lived in the country where things were very different. Well water varied from place to place. Some tasted good, some bad; some kind of red, some kind of black and some just plain stunk so bad you just didn’t want to use it at all. Sewage, of course, was always a septic system, not always in the best of condition. Then there was the household trash pit. As a young boy taking the trash to the pit was an adventure. Everything under the sun had been thrown in a pile for years allowing Mother Nature to tend to the recycling process at her own rate of speed and time. Tin cans by the hundreds, bottles of every shape and size, furniture and bed springs, old appliances, an ash pit for the coal burning house furnace, worn out bicycles, tires, a rusted out car or two and sometimes a wrecked vehicle which came with a story on how it got in that shape. We purchase, use, then throw it away without giving it a second thought. We are consumers and that’s what we do best, consume things. It’s still a chore that has to be done regularly, putting out the trash. It all gets hauled off to a trash pit somewhere out of sight, out of mind. Mother Nature still does her thing.
The Sunday school teacher asked Jimmie why he was late. “I was gonna go fishing, but daddy wouldn’t let me”, Jimmie replied “You have a wise father”, said the teacher. “Did he explain why you shouldn’t go fishing today?” “Sure” said Jimmie. “My dad said there wasn’t enough bait for both of us to go fishing.”
A man took his three-year-old daughter to the home improvement store. She quickly became tired of walking, so he let her ride on his shoulders. Soon after he began carrying her she started pulling on his hair. Although he asked her kindly, several times, to cease pulling his hair, she kept on. Getting annoyed, he began to severely scold her. “But daddy” she whimpered, “I’m trying to get my bubblegum back!”
[Ephesians 4: 17-32; Colossians 3: 1-9; James 1: 19-21; 1 Peter 2: 1] A consumer is generally considered to be the “end user”. Of course this involves a lot more than eating a bologna sandwich and drinking a soda. Our stomach is probably the least to receive what we consume. Our eyes and ears consume the most of what we use in this life, and unfortunately, that can tend to make our brain a sizeable trash pit. It’s the end of the year and most everyone is examining their life, making a note on the things they would like to change, making resolutions (promises) to ones self. May I suggest it’s time to take out the trash? Paul, James and Peter have made some great statements on what you must do to clean up your trash pit. Jesus teaches about taking out the trash. (Luke 11: 24-26) The trouble is, if you don’t put something back in its place you may end up with a bigger trash pit than before. So, the wisdom of the Spirit has also led the Apostles to tell us what we must replace our trash with. (Ephesians 5: 1-21; Colossians 3: 10-17; James 1: 22-25; 2 Peter 1: 3-8) Can you clean up your trash pit? Yes you can, with God’s help. Trust in the Lord to make all things right and it will happen. Don’t like some of the things in your life? Pray about them and work on change. God loves you, so much he gave us his one and only Son, sacrificed for the atonement of the sins of the world. God is willing to work on your trash pit with you today. Pray about it.