Saturday, April 23, 2011

Death and Life Combined

I looked about this morning in total amazement at the wonders of this world. Birds are chirping and busy finishing nests to the specifications of the one who will lay eggs and sit in the nest protecting her offspring. Squirrels are busy running around doing what squirrels do. Bees are buzzing around any flower they can find and are busy pollinating my neighbors’ vegetable garden. I curiously traced an ant trail for about twenty-five feet, looking like a crowded rush hour freeway with hundreds of ants traveling both ways, not finding a beginning or final destination point. I’ve noticed small holes dug in my yard, the evidence a possum has left behind digging for grubs and whatever else they dig up for food. I know one thing for sure. They will all be desperately looking for water before long. It hasn’t rained enough to talk about in this area for more than eight or nine months, yet the grass is growing and the trees have redressed themselves with leaves. Unfortunately, we all know what’s coming in the not too distant future, summer. With burn bands and water restrictions already in place, without rain, and a lot of it soon, things are fixin’ to dry up and wilt. The wildlife is also going to suffer. Chlorinated city water just can’t do the job properly. Pray for rain. Then pray again. I don’t want those pesky ants in my house looking for water.
The minister asked the little girl, “Do you know what’s in the Bible?” “Yes”, she responded. “I think I know everything that is in it.” Surprised, the minister said, “That’s a pretty big claim for someone your size. Go ahead and tell me.” The little girl started out, “Well… let’s see… there’s a picture of my brother’s girlfriend, a ticket from the dry cleaners, one of my curls and a Pizza Hut coupon.”
A four-year-old was at the pediatrician for a check-up. As the doctor looked in her ear he asked, “Do you think I’ll find Big Bird in here?” The little girl stayed silent. Next the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. “Do you think I’ll find the Cookie Monster down here?” Again the little girl was silent. Then the doctor put the stethoscope on her chest. As he listened to her heartbeat he asked, “Do you think I’ll hear Barney in here?” “Oh no!” the girl replied. “That will never happen! Jesus is in my heart, Barney is on my socks!”
[1 Corinthians 15: 50-58] Do you truly know what’s in the Bible? Is Jesus in your heart? Does your hope rest in the resurrection or are you afraid of death? Jesus went to the cross to fulfill God’s will to redeem man from his sins. In the garden, as he prayed, Jesus asked if it were possible there be another way, but he also knew, for the new covenant of reconciliation for man and God to be enforced, a blood sacrifice had to be made. Jesus was that sacrifice. His love for you and I brought forth death and life at the same time. Jesus’ blood washed away the sins of the world and His resurrection to life has opened the way for sinners to be with God forever. I, like Jesus, don’t especially look forward to my time of death, but I’m not afraid, for He has proven to me there’s more to come. My hope of glory rests in His resurrection. Like the farmer, who plants dead seed, and patiently waits for the soil to yield it’s valuable crop (James 5:7), I rest in the fact that I have died to sin, through baptism, and patiently await the coming of my Lord when I will be clothed with immortality to live with God eternally. I pray you will thirst after righteousness and seek God before it is everlastingly too late. (James 3)

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Appomattox Courthouse

Most of the commercials on TV have always dealt with our sense of vanity and our appearance in the presence of others. We have to drive the right vehicle and wear the most recent, fashion correct, clothing. We don’t seem to fit in if our waist line is a little larger than others or we have a little less hair than everyone else. Heaven forbid if we don’t smell right or display a few wrinkles here and there. And if you don’t know exactly how to correct all your flaws, simply, “ask your doctor”, who probably can prescribe a pill you can take. We are so self conscience and spoiled in this country even our leaders and representatives in government can’t tell the difference between wants and needs, image and thrift. Our blatant waste of money is about to take US down and it doesn’t seem like we can get our vanity out from in front of our eyes to see it coming. I think our rags to riches greedy society is about to return to rags again.
A woman went to the police station, with her next-door neighbor in tow, to report her husband missing. The policeman asked for a description. She said, “He’s 35-years-old; 6 foot, 4; dark eyes; dark wavy hair; an athletic build; weights 185 pounds; is soft spoken and is good with the kids.” The neighbor protested, “Your husband is 5 foot 4, chubby, bald headed, loud mouthed and is mean to your children!” The wife replied, “Yes, but who wants HIM back?”
Marriage Counselor: “Please remember, Mr. & Mrs. Brown, that there are always two sides to every story.” Mrs. Brown: “Fine! I’ll tell you my side of the story first. Then, I’m going to tell you his side of the story!”
On Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, General’s Grant and Lee met at the home of Wilmer McLean in the village of Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, to discuss the surrender of Lee and his army bringing the Civil War to a conclusion. The contrast between the two commanders was striking. Grant was 42 years-old, 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with a full head of hair and beard, without a trace of gray. He wore a single-breasted, unbuttoned, dark-blue flannel blouse, ordinary top-boots with his trousers inside and without spurs. The boots and portions of his clothes were spattered with mud. He had no sword and a pair of shoulder-straps was all there was about him to designate his rank. In fact, aside from this, his uniform was that of a private soldier. Lee, on the other hand, was six foot in height and sixteen years senior to Grant. His hair and full beard were silver-gray. He wore a new uniform of Confederate gray, buttoned up to the throat, and at his side he carried a long sword of exceedingly fine workmanship, the hilt studded with jewels. His top-boots, fairly new, were clean and shown ornamental red silk stitching. He also wore a felt hat that closely matched the color of his uniform. Grant had walked in off the battlefield and Lee had had time to clean up to present himself in defeat to the world, sitting erect, awaiting his position in history.
[Hebrews 4: 12-13] When Jesus returned to heaven fresh off the battlefield he looked like he had been in a battle. I’ll bet that same day, even though defeated, Satan was all dressed up in his finest, ready to make history. There is coming a day when we will all have our Appomattox meeting. How will you appear to God on that day? Will you be coming fresh off the spiritual battlefield, tired and worn, or will you look like you’ve been hanging out with Satan and the world? What will you gain if you lose your soul?

Saturday, April 09, 2011

An Important Reminder

I don’t think I could be called forgetful, but because I wear so many different hats and have to keep track of a lot of stuff, I rely heavily on my electronic gear to alert me of things I need to get done. The first of every month are things like meetings, HVAC filters (lots of those to check), first of month bills to be paid, bank account reconciliations to perform, just lots of little things to do and if not done on time they can become a log jam of paperwork. Well anyway, I had to laugh the other day when the reminder, ”Windshield Wipers” popped up. It’s a note from way back to check the wipers every month. My past vehicles parked the wipers on the glass exposed to the summer sun and heat, making them melt to the glass when not used over a period of time. The vehicle I now drive parks the wipers sort of out of sight, but giving them a look see is still a good thing to do. Why? Because it hasn’t rained for eight months!! I’ve changed more wiper blades because of inactivity than from wearing them out with use. Where I grew up, wipers were literally worn out from rain, snow and ice removal from the windshield. Not in South Texas! One can install new wiper blades and use them once. The next time the wipers get turned on they’ll leave streaks on the glass because the blades are already deteriorated from heat and dirt. I used to carry a new pair of blades with me because I’ve turned the wipers on only to watch the blades stick to the window as the wiper arm rips lose from the rubber. Awk! I just put those silly things on! It may seem silly, but the lack of rain is definitely getting serious. Locally, we are more than ten inches of rain behind and we’re heading into the hot dry summer season. Prayer is in order, even for those who don’t regularly call on God for help.
A man was sitting on a hard, bumpy, elevated piece of rock, fishing. His wife, watching from a distance for a while, commented to her adult daughter, “Is that the same man who complains every Sunday how uncomfortable the pews are?”
The preacher was speaking on the relationship between “fact” and “faith”. “That you are sitting in front of me here in this building is a fact,” he said. “That I am speaking to you from this pulpit is a fact”, he continued. “But”, he concluded, “it is only faith that makes me believe that any of you are truly listening.”
[1 Thessalonians 5: 2-3] April 15, 1906, was Easter Sunday for that year. By all accounts, church buildings were full. None of the citizens of San Francisco, including the preachers, had any idea that the following Wednesday, April 18th, would bring death and destruction to many of them in the form of the “Great Quake”. It’s a shame that most people honor the host of life with their attendance in worship only once or twice a year. Those same people are surprised to find that when “rainy days” come and they “turn on” their relationship with God, all they end up with is streaks and smears on their windows of faith. I find my relationship with God has to be examined daily and there are things in my life that have to be changed regularly to keep the way clear as I travel through life. I have absolutely no idea when the last day of life will be for me or anyone around me. But I am prepared, because I walk in the truth of the Gospel and my faith in the resurrection unto everlasting life is crystal clear. Are you neglecting regular maintenance on your spirit? Don’t get caught with your prayers stuck to your tongue (James 4:1-6). You have to know God, for God to answer you (James 4:8-10).

Saturday, April 02, 2011

Up-lifted or Up-set

When writing, one must be aware of proper word usage and punctuation, otherwise the meaning could be totally misconstrued. A statement such as, “What’s that in the road ahead?” could lose all it’s meaning just by placing a comma in the wrong place, “What’s that in the road, ahead?” I’ve often, over the years, claimed a Freudian slip. My most common is, “Soul (sole) ownership”. It gets me every time. The most common mistake in lengthy writing is excessive repeating of the same word. It can make an article really dull. I came across a short essay the other day discussing one little word and how it can be used to excess if not guarded. The word is “up”.
It’s easy to understand the word “up”, meaning toward the sky, or at the top of the list. But when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake up? At a meeting, why does a topic come up? Why do we speak up? Why do officers come up for election? Why is it up to the secretary to write up a report? We call up our friends and we use humor to brighten up a room. We polish up silver, warm up leftovers and clean up the kitchen. We lock up the house and some guys fix up old cars. At other times this little word has real special meaning. People are known to stir up trouble, line up for tickets, work up an appetite and think up excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed up is special. And this “up” is confusing. A drain must be opened up because it is stopped up. We open up our business in the morning and close it up at night. When it threatens to rain, we say it’s clouding up and when the sun comes out, we say it’s clearing up! When it does rain, it wets the earth and often messes things up and when it doesn’t rain for a long period, things dry up. We seem to be pretty mixed up about “up”! To be knowledgeable about the proper usages of “up”, look the word up in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes up almost ¼th of the page and can add up to about thirty definitions. If you’re up to it, you might try building up a list of the many ways “up” is used. It will take up a lot of your time, but if you don’t give up, you may wind up with a hundred or more. One could go on and on, but I’ll wrap it up, for now my time is up, so it’s time to put up and shut up.
[Ecclesiastes 12: 1-7] A comma is used in a sentence to indicate a pause. A period is end punctuation. It is used to show the end of a sentence. With this idea in mind think on the following quote. “Death is not a period, but a comma, in the story of life.” It says a great deal. It speaks of the immortality of the soul. There is more to man’s existence than life on earth. Man has an immortal soul. Ah, soul and spirit. A couple of words hotly debated, kicked around and misused. Think of it this way. Man is made in the image of God, and of the earth. When combined man became a living soul (Genesis 2). The teacher (Solomon) tells us (v.7 of the text) “…the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it”. At the resurrection the spirit and the body will again join to become an immortal soul. (1 Corinthians 15: 42-54) Jesus said, (v. 46) “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25: 31-46). We will not be dead all over like Rover. No, we are eternal, like God is eternal. The question in this life is, where do you want to live for eternity? Will your soul be all cleaned up by the blood of Jesus? Will you be making up excuses for you failure to obey the Gospel? Will you be up in heaven, or upset you missed out?