Faith Is A Blessing

The news from around the country and around the world every day of late is rather depressing, even though we’re being told things are getting better. Money matters continue to drag down countries all around the world and even here at home as governments continue to borrow on borrowed money to spend it on the most ridiculous things. Last year at this time tornadoes were tearing up billions of dollars of property in the U.S. and for the past several years fire has consumed billions of dollars more. This year seems to be the worst in history, at least for this country. These natural disasters are as bad as all out war and what is left behind after an invading force has passed over the land. At least with natural disasters most things can be compensated for through insurance, but the personal stuff like pictures and family heirlooms have been lost forever. People say there only “things” and they survived with their life which means more. True enough, but hearts are broken because of their great loss and life will not be the same again for these people. While sitting in a shelter with only the clothes on your back and a pile of ashes or debris on the piece of land you call home, what does one hang tomorrow on? I’ve gone broke a couple of times and health issues have brought me very low, but I’ve never been in a situation where my whole community has lost everything and instantly became totally dependent on someone else to survive. There’s not much I can do except pray that God gives them the strength to move on with a positive outlook and a stronger faith in the One who sustains their life day to day. While attending worship a six-year-old boy noticed a white flag with gold stars on it in the corner of the building. “What’s that, daddy?” asked the boy. “That’s a reminder of all those who have died in service,” his father whispered. The boy thought it over for a moment, then asked, “Did they die in the 9:30 or 11 o’clock service? While the family was sitting around the table eating, Jennifer, 5, turned to her brother, Andy, 3, and said, while pointing at their dad, “That’s not your real father”, startling the whole family. “Yes he is”. Andy replied. “No he’s not,” Jennifer insisted. “God is your heavenly Father”, and pointing again said, “That’s your homely father.” [Hebrews 11:6] “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” As is following most personal disappointments of life, people tend to turn to God for strength and understanding. Unfortunately, they also turn back to themselves as soon as life begins to run smoothly again. In Genesis 11:1-9, the people of earth traveled about to find a place where they wanted to live. “…They said, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone and tar for mortar. ‘…Let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves…’” God confused their language and scattered the people of earth so they would not become great on their own. (Genesis 12:1-5 & Hebrews 11:7-16) On the other hand, Abram (Abraham), when called by God, followed the instructions of God by faith, for what God promised, Abram could not see. God said follow me and I will bless you and you will be a blessing. God is knocking on the door of the unbeliever and unfaithful. God is testing the faithful. The helping hands and the prayers of the faithful will be a blessing to those seeking God.

Are You Guilty?

As teenagers we all pushed the envelop of behavior, testing the limits of our ever increasing independence of self-governability. Parents tend to put a little slack in the apron strings of decision making, allowing their child student to venture into the realm of deciding for them self what is right or wrong and the practice of saying “no”, all on their own. It’s a graduation of total inconsistency today as some parents give their children too much slack too early in life, while some refuse to give any slack at all, still others just cut the string all together insisting “they’ll find their own way”. It seems parents just don’t have time to help their children grow into adulthood. Behavior of some children is totally out of control. My mother always reminded us to wear clean underwear in case of an accident, I guess in an attempt of protecting us from some sort of embarrassment in the ER. Most people I’ve seen in the ER after an accident were a mess, underwear and all. I don’t know what my mother would do today if see saw one of these teen boys walking down the street with their underwear hanging out for everyone to see. My father simply reminded his children to behave themselves, because where ever we went and whatever we did, we could find our self in the presence of someone he knows and word of our misbehavior could follow us home through the grapevine. The wisdom of grand-parents was equally simple, “what goes around, comes around”. I was totally reminded of this with the story about the posting of a clip on You Tube showing the bus monitor being bullied by some teenage boys. The whole thing backfired in disgrace to them and their families. I’m glad to see the system still works. We all made it to adulthood, unfortunately our prisons are full. At the end of his shift, the police officer parked his van in front of the police station. His K-9 partner, Bo, was in the back of the van. As the officer was exiting the van, he saw a little boy looking in the back window of the vehicle. “Is that a dog you got back here?” asked the boy. “It sure is”, answered the officer. With a puzzled look on his face the boy looked at the officer, then again at the dog and asked, “What did he do?” After a worship service, a mother with a fidgety seven-year-old explained to the preacher how she finally got her son to sit still and be quiet. About halfway through the sermon, she leaned over and whispered, “If you don’t be quiet Preacher Carlton is going to lose his place and will have to start his lesson all over again!” It worked. [Colossians 3:1 - 4:1 & Ephesians 4:17 - 6:18] The 68-year-old bus monitor endured a bullying session of harassment that even two of the boys admitted, after viewing the internet clip, “I am so sorry for the way I treated you. When I saw the video I was disgusted and could not believe I did that”, and, “If that had happened to someone in my family, like my mother or grand-mother, I would be really mad at the people who did that to them.” The bus monitor will not press charges on the boys but stated she does expect to see them punished for what they had done. I heard a profound question asked the other day. “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would the courts find you guilty with the evidence they collected from your lifestyle?” That certainly sat me back in my chair for a moment. Would my defense convict me of being a Christian? Would I want it to? Is my life really in line with what I believe? Is my behavior in this world that which pleases my Father in heaven? Am I doing all in the name of the Lord?

Give God A Chance

      I think I’ve come to another one of those crossroads in life when one steps back to examine what is being accomplished in their life. I’m not distressed, discouraged, or upset about my life at this point, it’s just that there are about a thousand more things I’d like to be doing along with the thousand other things I’m already doing. So what is a person suppose to turn lose of and what does one add to their life without disappointing others? Well, don’t feel sorry for me because I’ve learned that lesson well. I’ve learned that when one pushes and bends life in their desired way, life has a tendency to fight back. The more one pushes to make things happen the more life pushes back and incompleteness or total failure sets you back on your heals. Things happen in life that get completely ignored and are not taken advantage of because we deem them as irrelevant, when in reality they could become a life changing experience, if only we would allow it. There is an ebb and flow of life that my faith and trust in God has allowed me to see and enjoy for many years now. I continue to learn that life’s great accomplishments can and do change lives, but it’s the little things in life that make life enjoyable. Worry, fussing and fighting and feuding are the things that make life hard. I look for the wisdom of God as He works in my life, bringing me ever closer to Him.
      A Chinese proverb says: ‘A farmer had one horse and one son. One day the horse broke out of the corral and fled to the hills. The neighbors said to him, “Your horse got out. That’s too bad.” The Chinese gentleman asked, “How do you know it’s bad?” The next night the horse returned to his familiar corral for his usual feeding and watering, leading twelve wild horses. The farmer’s son saw the thirteen horses in the corral, slipped outside and shut the gate. The neighbors said, “Oh, you have thirteen horses. That’s good.” The Chinese farmer replied, “How do you know it’s good?” A few days later, the farmer’s young son was thrown from one of the wild horses and broke his leg. The neighbors said, “Your son has a broken leg. That’s too bad.” Again, the farmer said, “How do you know it’s bad?” Not too long after that, a Chinese warlord came through the countryside and took every able-bodied young man of to war, never to return again. The farmer’s son was left behind because of his broken leg.’
      [Proverbs 3:5-6] “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths’ straight.” Likewise, Paul states in the book of Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Think about it and you will discover that God is constantly calling out to every living soul. Like the Chinese farmer told his neighbors, we can’t always see how things that appear to be bad can be used for good purposes. But the Lord’s promise is that he will bring good out of the bad experiences of life if we will trust him to do so. Some have the mistaken idea that when God stopped working miracles, as he did in the Bible, that he stopped working. God has not stopped working in the lives of mankind. We don’t have to understand the mechanics of how the Lord works to know it’s true. As Christians we don’t live by explanations, we live by promises. If you are a Christian who loves and trusts God, you can take it to the bank; He will take care of you. If you have found yourself at a crossroad in life, let go and let God have a chance.

Don't Be Surprised

While talking with my neighbor the other day I was surprised when he told me he had encountered a baby rattler in his yard. You ask why I should be surprised, when after all, South Texas is their natural habitat. Well, I have always believed that old wives tail about cats and the lack of snakes and other critters being around because of their presence. With all the cats roaming our neighborhood I wouldn’t have thought there wouldn’t be any snakes around; so much for that myth. Lazy cats! His mention of snakes brought to mind an incident of mine in the early 70’s. I had been working on the engine of a one and a half ton farm truck for three days and finally got it running again. With lots of other jobs to get to I backed it out of the garage to warm up so I could then top off the fluid levels making it ready for delivery. As it idled I was cleaning the shop floor and glanced back at the truck to see a huge brown snake making its way out of the engine compartment over the front bumper of the truck to the ground. I guess the temperature was getting a little uncomfortable for the snake and it wanted out. Well, I have no use for snakes, but several other employees couldn’t wait to torment the poor thing. Someone said it was a harmless ‘chicken snake’ but that didn’t save its life. After the hoop-la was over I finished my to do’s and went for a test drive with the truck. Upon my return I visited the restroom and at my exit I encountered the big brown snake draped over the doorknob. After the shock wore off and after getting the door open, touching as little of the snake as possible, I find the other guys huddled in the corner looking for my reaction. Well, I did better than they had expected and I reminded them that we have one female employee but only one restroom. I guess you know what happened. She about tore the walls down trying to get out of that restroom. I never heard such a noise before. After her release she stomped out of the building, got in her car and we didn’t see her for two days. She accepted the apologies from all of those involved even though they were delivered to her with some giggling.
A taxi passenger tapped the driver on the shoulder to ask him a question. The driver shrieked out a horrible scream, lost control of the car and stopped just short of hitting a utility pole. “You scared the daylights out of me!” he said. “I’m sorry”, said the passenger, “I didn’t realize a tap on the shoulder would scare you in that way.” After collecting his thoughts the taxi driver explained his reaction. “It’s not your fault” the driver began, “Today is my very first day as a taxi cab driver. You see, for twenty-five years I’ve been driving a van for a funeral home.”
[1 Thessalonians 4: 13 – 5: 11; 1 Peter 4: 12-19 & 1 John 3: 11-24] Paul, Peter and John express to us in their letters that there are things that should not surprise us as a Christian. The coming of the Lord should not surprise us like a thief in the night. In fact we should be looking for His coming. If as a Christian we are truly living for God, we should not be surprised at the painful trials that we suffer or that we are hated by the world. As a Christian we are no longer in the dark as to the will of God for our lives in the body. We are to teach the truth found in God’s Word in love to a sick and dying world. It’s hard to overlook the sin and love the sinner, but teaching the sinner the truth, exposing their errant way in the sight of God is our duty. Rejection hurts, and don’t be surprised when the sinner strikes at you. Jesus has already saved your life.

Just Do Your Part

Did you go vote the other day? I have to admit I had no idea half the things on the ballet were going to be there. Keeping up with the political scene in this country is like trying to read the fine print in an advertisement on the TV screen or attempting to read the full message on a billboard while rolling down the road at seventy. It’s rare you get the full message but you simply don’t have the time to go back to read it again. I hope you’re not the kind of person that says, “My vote won’t mean much anyway. That sort of stuff is already decided before anyone goes to the polls.” I’ve heard that sort of logic before and it doesn’t make sense to me. If you’re one of the millions of qualified voters who don’t exercise their right to vote, you’re giving away your rights, period.
I walked through a county courthouse square; On a park bench an old man was sitting there. I said, ‘Your old courthouse is kinda run down’; He said, ‘Naw, it’ll do for our little town’. I said, ‘Your flagpole is leaning a little bit, and that’s a Ragged Old Flag you got hanging on it’. He said, ‘Have a seat’, and I sat down. ‘Is this the first time you’ve been to our little town’? I said, ‘I think it is’. He said, ‘I don’t like to brag, but we’re kind of proud of that Ragged Old Flag. You see, we got a little hole in that flag there when Washington took it across the Delaware; And it got a bad rip in New Orleans with Packingham and Jackson tugging at its seams. And it almost fell at the Alamo beside the Texas flag, but she waved on through. She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville and she got cut again at Shiloh Hill. There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard and Bragg and the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag. On Flanders Field in World War I she got a big hole from a Bertha gun. She turned blood red in World War II; She hung limp and low a time or two. She was in Korea and Vietnam; She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam. She waved from our ships upon the briny foam and now they’ve about quit waving her back here at home. In her own good land she’s been abused. She’s been burned, dishonored, denied and refused. And the government for which she stands is scandalized throughout the land. And she’s getting threadbare and wearing thin, but she’s in good shape for the shape she’s in; ‘Cause she’s been through the fire before and I believe she can take a whole lot more. So we raise her up every morning; Take her down every night. We don’t let her touch the ground, and we fold her up right. On second thought I DO like to brag; ‘Cause I’m mighty proud of that Ragged Old Flag’. Written by Johnny Cash. Flag Day is June 14th. I have to confess, I don’t own a flag to fly, but I will soon, lest I forget.
[Ruth] She could not see it during the famine or when her family moved to another country. She could not see it when her husband died, or when he sons married foreign women, or when her son died. She could not see it when she returned to her hometown in bitterness and struggled to make ends meet, though God was helping her. She could not see it even when things began to turn around for the better, when financial security and deliverance arrived. She could not see it even when a son was born to her daughter-in-law. Naomi could not see that that baby boy, Obed, became the grandfather of David, the great king of Israel, who was the great ancestor of the Messiah, who came to save us from our sins. You can’t see very far down the line, but God has a great plan and you are a part of it. Stand up, be proud and do your part.