Saturday, March 29, 2014

Priceless Heavenly Treasures


World conditions are getting to a point where a man can’t make up his mind what to invest in anymore. Interest rates on secure principles are virtually zero forcing one to essentially gamble in unstable commodities and institutions. Vladimir Putin evidently believes the best investment still available is real estate, but as we have recently witnessed in the state of Washington, even that’s not very stable either. I’m not making light of that terrible disaster, only looking at the fact that we have no idea what will disrupt our life tomorrow or the day after. Because mankind has the individual desire to live as one sees fit, to attain that goal, too many are turning to a lifestyle of greed and theft all the way from the top to the lowest of the humanistic food chain. The world is diplomatically dealing with two neighborhood bullies, one trying to destroy the capitalistic way of life and now the other standing on the doorstep of divide and conquer. Like I’ve said many times before, the one with the most toys doesn’t win.

There was a man, neglectful of his family and a real miser, who worked hard all his life and saved a ton of money. He loved money more than just about anything. He had instructed his wife, “When I die I want you to take all my money and place it in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the afterlife.” So he got his wife to promise him this with all her heart, that at his death she would put all his money in the casket with him. Well, one day he died. He was stretched out in the casket; the wife was sitting there in black next to her best friend. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertaker got ready to close the casket, the wife said, “Just a minute!” She had a shoebox in hand and approached the open casket where-in she placed the box. Then the undertaker locked down the casket and rolled it away. Her friend said, “I hope you weren’t crazy enough to put all that money in the casket!” The wife replied, “Yes, I promised. I’m a good Christian and I can’t lie. I promised him I would put that money in the casket with him.” The friend asked in disbelief, “You mean to tell me you put every cent of his money in that casket?” “I sure did,” said the wife. “I got it all together; put it in my bank account, and wrote him a check for the full amount.”

[Matthew 6:19-24 & Colossians 2:1-4] Jesus said, “Do not store for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” And like the commercial says, “Everybody knows that!” But did you know there is a heavenly treasure you can possess on earth? Paul, writing encouraging words to the Colossians said, “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.” Jesus, the Word of God (John 1:14), is the heavenly treasure we can enjoy here on earth. Through God’s Word, we have a treasure of wisdom and knowledge unsurpassed by anything man can present as a perfect lifestyle. “…seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you…” (Matthew 6:33). Love, wisdom, knowledge and a firm faith in Christ, are priceless treasures.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Perpetual Four-Year-Olds


I had forgotten about the joys, the fun, the laughter and the frustrations that come with raising a child, I mean puppy. At seven months, Bella, my little Chihuahua, is going through some major changes and it’s a riot watching the transformation. She’s been losing her baby teeth for about a month now with only one canine to go, which I can tell is a little painful. A definite personality is emerging with little dances of excitement when heading for the door to go outside in the yard. This is her first spring and every trip out of doors is a new adventure filled with sights, sounds and smells for the senses. A short trip around the yard takes forever now with all the new smells. The yellow dandelion that drew her attention for several days had turned white ready to expand its territory with floating seed, just needing a little nudge to get started. Bella’s curiosity was that motivation when she bumped it with her nose. Some of the seed started to float off the plant and some stuck to her wet nose. She then decided to bite the white fluff and the game was on. At the end of chasing the floating seeds around, signs of defeat for dandelion reproduction were evident, with mouth, nose and eyes each containing feathery white seed stuck to the moist areas. Each new bird call turns her head and she even appeared to be frightened with all the commotion in the trees the other day. Of course play-time is the best. Running back and forth along the fence with the neighbor dog is a favorite. Sometimes she’ll fetch a ball and at other times she just likes to run wide open expelling all that stored up puppy energy. I have a theory that, compared to children, dogs are perpetual four-year-olds. They are totally dependent on you, yet are ready to conquer the world. They look to you for protection and fully trust you. They know there is right and wrong, and insist on pushing the envelop, all the while looking at you to see if you’re going to scold them. Bella meets and greets us at the door; ears up = good; ears down = she’s done something she shouldn’t have while alone in the house, generally torn-up some paper. Puppies are, like four-year-olds, not fully attentive, and do in fact ignore you when the feeling strikes, unabashed, unafraid and always testing the teacher’s patience while testing the waters of independence. They want to go everywhere you go. They love you in spite of the discipline and can’t wait to be with you at every opportunity available to them. Love is a wonderful thing.

[Matthew 18: 1-6] …Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” As we spiritually mature, in some ways we need to become perpetual four-year-olds in our relationship with God. We must realize everything comes from God and we are totally dependent on Him for our every need. We should look to God for protection from the evil one and fully trust in His Word to guide us throughout our life. We are not perfect for we all sin (disobey), and when we do, we need to meet God at the door of prayer with our head hung low and ask for forgiveness. We may get disciplined for our wrong-doing, but remember, God still loves you. Is it okay to explore and launch out into something new and different? Of course; but remember to always look to God for that sign of approval by searching the scriptures and learning what pleases Him. (2 Timothy 3: 14-17) Leave your inhibitions behind and submit to the Lord your God.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Where Are The Wise?


Oh boy! I can’t wait to find out how I go about applying for overtime under the new executive power legislation of forced law coming from our present administration. I figure my salary aught to more than double next year. Full time employment is going to drop from forty hours a week to thirty hours a week, so that means my typical sixty hour week is going to pay off big time. Of course that’s all just a dream, because I’m still self-employed, and I don’t get paid hourly. Then again I’m probably better off. All I can see coming in the future is more loss of jobs and/or cost increases for finished products, which includes your hamburger, soda and fries at the drive-thru. A sizable increase was noticed at the last minimum wage raise and a definite increase will be felt at the consumer level when the minimum wage goes up and contract labor overtime is initiated. The oil companies are probably already calculating how much more money they can squeeze out us. The neighborhood small business is doomed for sure now.

One corporation is thinking of re-writing some of its office policies to counter some of the new labor laws. DRESS CODE: You are advised to come to work dressed according to your salary. (1) If we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we will assume you are doing well financially, and therefore you do not need a raise. (2) If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise. (3) If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be, and therefore you do not need a raise. SICK DAYS: We will no longer accept a doctor’s statement as proof of sickness. If you can go to the doctor, you can come to work also. PERSONAL DAYS: Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturdays and Sundays. More changes are forth-coming including restroom and lunch breaks. Management expects full cooperation from all employees as they struggle to comply with new labor laws.

Plato said,”…like man, like state.” He argued that behind political problems lies the nature of man. “…governments vary as the characters of men vary; …states are made out of the human natures which are in them; …the state is what it is because its citizens are what they are. Therefore we need not expect to have better states until we have better men; …till then all changes will have every essential unchanged. How charming people are! Always doctoring, increasing and complicating their disorders, fancying they will be cured by some nostrum which somebody advises them to try, never getting better, but always growing worse.” And again, “We cannot build Utopia with young people corrupted at every turn by the example of their elders.”

[Romans 10; 12:1-2 & Acts 28:23-27] Plato believed that a nation cannot be strong unless it believes in God. He reasoned that a mere cosmic force, or first cause, that was not a person, could hardly inspire hope, or devotion, or sacrifice. It could not offer comfort to the hearts of the distressed, nor courage to embattled souls. But, a living God can do all of this! If you would like our nation and the world to be better, become a better you. James writes about wisdom (James 3:13-18). “…For when you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” We need leaders with true wisdom.

Saturday, March 08, 2014

Is God Throwing Bricks?


A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast, in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids that might dart out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s passenger door! He slammed on the brakes and backed up to where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, “What was that all about and who are you? Why did you do that? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money!” The young boy was apologetic, “Please mister …please, I’m sorry, but I didn’t know what else to do. I threw the brick because no one else would stop…” With tears running down his face and dripping off his chin, the boy pointed to a spot just around the parked car, “It’s my brother!” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up!” Now sobbing and nearly incoherent the boy asked the stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and I can’t do it alone.” Moved beyond words the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scraps and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. “Thank you, and may God bless you” the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. Slowly he walked back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but he never repaired it. He left it there to remind him to never go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.

[Romans 2:1-16, 21-24] God’s warnings to the Jew still stand as written, and a precedent to we who occupy His creation today. God’s anger is one thing, but his wrath is something I don’t wish to experience. The “Day of the Lord” has come about several times on this earth while dealing with its disobedient inhabitants. God even destroyed Jerusalem, the Holy City, because of disobedience and corruption. Great empires have been brought down to ruin because their leaders wandered from the truth, which displeased the Creator of the universe. We have a serious problem in the world today and this country is not exempt from the coming of God’s wrath, because we no longer fear Him. There was a day when our elected officials kissed babies to win a vote; yet, today it’s acceptable that they promise all voters the privilege of killing babies, so that they might win their favor. What’s wrong with this picture? Everything! We have leaders today who are not only bringing this country to ruin, but are passing legislation which will bring upon its citizens the wrath of God here in this life and in the next. The narrow gate is opened wider with every session of Congress, national and at the state level, which will condemn generations of people to hell for eternity. God is only throwing bricks at us trying to get our attention by exposing corruption and wrong doing in the leadership of our nation. If we do nothing about it, God will allow this country to run down to ruin. Have you made your vote count? Do you care what kind of society your grandchildren live in? Pray God will help us get back up and heal us.

Saturday, March 01, 2014

More Space for More Stuff

     My coffee drinking buddy had the back of his pick-up full of “stuff” he had gathered up around the house that he said “just had to go” and was headed for the dump first thing. It’s unreal how much stuff one can acquire over the years, without even trying. It seems we never throw away anything even though we live in a throw away world. I’ll venture to guess we own more broken unusable things than serviceable things we use every day. This phenomenon is so prevalent there’s even a profitable TV show called “Hoarders”. I ran across some interesting statistics the other day. Self storage, is the largest growing investment business in the world. The “Self Storage Association” published the following facts at the end of 2013. There are over 52,000 self-storage facilities in the U.S. and over 59,000 in the world. The total rentable space in the U.S. is now 2.3 billion sq. ft. or 78 sq. miles of under-roof storage. That’s more than three times the size of Manhattan Island, N.Y. That’s about 21 sq. ft. of storage for every American household; 7.3 sq. ft. for every man, woman and child in the nation. That means it is physically possible for every American to stand, all at the same time, under the total canopy of self storage roofing. Although, over the years, our family size has shrunk, and the size of our homes has grown, 8.9% of all American households currently rent a self storage unit; 68% of all self storage renters live in a single family household; 27% live in apartments or condos; 65% have a garage, 47% have an attic and 33% have a basement in their home, but still rent a unit. I guess every nook and cranny and closet is already full of stuff and renting more space makes sense. It took the self storage industry more than 25 years to build its first billion square feet of space, but only eight years to build its second billion square feet. It appears we baby-boomers are unwilling to discard anything, yet we get blamed for all the landfills – go figure. Keep hoarding America! 172,000 employed workers are depending on you! So, what are you going to do with the fireplace in your home, which convinced you to buy it in the first place, now that the EPA has banded their use because of the pollutants coming out of the chimney? I’ll bet cow diapers are still right around the corner.


     [Luke 12:13-21; 14:25-33] “…What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. …This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” It sounds like this guy is tuning his voice to be heard by everyone – “I-I-I, Me, Me, Me”.  …But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” Don’t get me or the Lord wrong here. Work hard and lay aside for yourself, but don’t forget about the Lord, the one who gives it all in the first place. Like Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21). God’s wisdom is littered with paradoxical thoughts of truth. What comes to mind at the moment, is that, through baptism I have died so that I might live (Romans 6) and that I must give up everything to become a disciple of Christ (Luke 14:33). What must I give up? Me, Myself and I. It’s not all about me; it’s all about God. The cost for God’s love and grace is giving your all to the Lord.