Don't Do It Half Way

A certain individual came to me about ten days ago with a temporary job offer for several people and did I know of anyone available. It didn’t take but about a nanosecond for several names to pop into my head, unknown to me at that time, none of which had any transportation. Well, I let the job offer be known to everyone I could think of and spread the word as this company was looking for about twenty people. I saw to it that two of them got to the interview and after getting the job, seeing that they got to work every morning this past week. How they get home again I don’t know, but I insisted that one call me every night to remind me to pick them up in the morning. I tend to forget and skip over some things at times, because I sort of wake up in a new world every day. It doesn’t take me long to get involved, unintentionally, in something deep enough to temporarily forget everything else. I don’t mind helping, but I do need to be reminded.
A woman stole a can of peaches. Her husband escorted her as she went before the judge. “Did you steal the can of peaches”, the judge asked? “Yes sir”, she replied. “Did you eat the peaches”, the judge asked? “Yes sir”, she answered. “How many peaches were in the can”, the judge inquired? “Six”, she replied. “You will spend six days in jail, one for each peach”, the judge sentenced. The husband offered, “Your Honor, she also stole and ate a can of peas.” Then there were three guys talking in the post office. Two of them were bragging about the amount of control they had over their wife, while the other remained silent. One of the two turned to the third and asked, “Well, what about you?” The third fellow said, “Just the other night my wife came to me on her hands and knees.” The first two were amazed. “What happened then ,” they inquired? “She looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Get out from under that bed and fight like a man!’”
[Colossians 1: 3-29] A hunter raised his rifle and took careful aim at a large bear. About to pull the trigger, the bear said in a soothing voice, “Isn’t it better to talk than to shoot? What do you want? Let’s negotiate the matter.” Lowering his rifle the hunter said, “I want a fur coat.” “Good”, said the bear, “that’s a negotiable item. I only want a full stomach, so let’s sit down and negotiate a compromise.” They sat down to negotiate and in a short while the bear walked away, alone. The negotiations had been successful. The bear had a full stomach and the hunter had a fur coat. Before making a decision to help someone or teach someone, do you first sit down with Satan to negotiate the terms on how far you will go? If we set out to do all things in the name of the Lord, why do we selfishly compromise God’s truth? Christ and His church deserve our very best and utmost loyalty. Here’s a little poem by Laura McKnight. Life without purpose is barren indeed. There can’t be a harvest, unless you plant seeds. There can’t be attainment, unless there’s a goal. A man’s just a robot, unless there’s a soul. Becoming the person God wants you to be, Means being a better Christian and living faithfully. Prayers can’t be answered, unless they are prayed. So, as a child of God, make sure you pray each day. Not just for pleasure, enjoyment and health. Not just for honors, prestige and wealth, but pray as a child of God complete, One that the devil cannot beat. Pray for the joy of unselfish giving. Because great is your reward, when you make your life’s purpose the choice of the Lord. Don’t negotiate with what Jesus is preparing for you in heaven.

"Cast Down" Sheep

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of 60,000 volts of static electricity shooting out of my fingers every time I exit my chair and get within a two inch proximity of anything metal. Low humidity and cool temps are the perfect brew for producing good static charges and for some reason I seem to be one of the best storage vessels looking for a place to discharge. The sparks that fly off me even have the tendency to turn off my remote controlled office radio. I only know of two ways to prevent this from happening. One is to simply stand still until the static electricity naturally dissipates, but I don’t have the time for that. The other is to have air friction discharge the static, but I don’t move that fast. So, until we get our humidity back I guess I’ll just have to remain a little more “shocking” than usual. Bad hair days too!

One day a little girl was watching her mother doing some dishes in the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had some strands of white hair, noticeably contrasting on her brunette head. She inquisitively asked, “Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?” Her mother replied, “Well, every time you do something wrong to make me cry or be unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.” The little girl thought about this revelation and then said, “Momma, how come ALL of grandma’s hairs are white?”

We deem it strange to see a dog or cat lying on its back sound asleep, but I think they find comfort in it, much like you and I, at the end of the day. For me, I think bed rest gives the equilibrium and the neck a much needed rest after a long day of balancing life. Not so when it comes to sheep. Known as “cast down” sheep, the shepherd goes through a lot to get one back on its feet. You see, when sheep lay on their back, gas begins to collect in their stomach. It hardens the stomach, cuts off the air passage, and they suffocate. In addition to that, their legs go numb in that position. Only the shepherd can restore them. The process used by the shepherd to get the cast down sheep back on its feet is slow and takes patience. The shepherd rolls the sheep on its side and begins massaging the four legs to stimulate circulation. Then he begins to talk in a reassuring tone to the sheep, “Everything’s going to be alright. You’re going to make it.” Then he gently lifts the sheep up, and because it cannot stand on its own he’ll hold the animal there while the sheep begins to regain its equilibrium. The shepherd can see and feel the independence of the sheep gaining as blood flow returns to the legs and stability returns. When the shepherd is sure the sheep has recovered and can stand on its own, he begins his walk back to the fold, lovingly encouraging the sheep to follow him.

[Matthew 9: 9-13] Jesus indirectly compares himself to a physician having come to heal sinners. Humanity has dubbed Jesus “The Great Physician”, but I think He would rather be seen in the same light as the shepherd working with the “cast down” sheep. When you’re on your back and the emotional pain of guilt, grief and grudges are overwhelming you, will you remember that the Lord is your shepherd? He lovingly comes with tender hands and reassuring words, picks us up and sets us up straight until we get on our feet again. Then, as He leads the way, He continues to encourage us to follow Him back to the fold. …He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness, For His name’s sake. … And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Fifteen Minutes

Where does the time go? It seems like I just had a birthday and here it is again. Well, like someone said long ago, “Having birthdays sure beats the alternative”. I got to reminisce about my childhood last week with the national news reporting on the big snowfall in Oswego, New York. That’s where I grew up, and I have a sister that still lives there. I remember several such snowfalls and the challenges that came with them. I also now remember why I chose to live in South Texas. I also got to thinking about my fifteen minutes of fame. It is said that we will all experience our fifteen minutes of fame and if I’ve already had mine, I’m sure disappointed. After thinking about it for a while longer I decided that, as far as I know, there isn’t any rule against improving on the fifteen minutes that may have already slipped by. Don’t try to analyze my thoughts now. I’m not planning to do something stupid just to make the national news. I just don’t want my fifteen minutes of fame while laying in a box, you know what I mean?
I don’t guess it matters the age at when your fame surfaces, because it’s what you do that matters, not when you do it. At age 42, Ted Williams slammed a home run in his official last time at bat. Mickey Mantle, age 20, hit 23 homers his first full year in the majors. Golda Meir was 71 when she became Prime Minister of Israel. William Pitt II, was only 24 when he became Prime Minister of Great Britain. George Bernard Shaw was 71 before one of his plays was first produced while Mozart was just 7 years old when his first composition was published. Benjamin Franklin was a newspaper columnists at 16, and a framer of the United States Constitution at age 81.
I think our fifteen minutes of fame just sort of sneaks up on us and I also think we get more than one in a lifetime. Maybe we have to add up the minutes. You know, like fifteen, one minute spurts of fame over a lifetime, or thirty, thirty second proud moments, if only in your own mind. I don’t know. Here are a few things we could all do to help improve our fifteen minutes. Forget each kindness that you do, as soon as you do it. Forget the praise that falls on you, the moment you win it. Forget the slander you hear, before you can repeat it. Forget each slight, each spite, each sneer, wherever you may meet it. Remember every kindness done to you, whatever its measure. Remember praise by others won, and pass it on with pleasure. Remember every promise made, and keep it to the letter. Remember those who lend you aid, and be a grateful debtor.
[James 4: 13-14] Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that city, spend a year there, carrying on business and making money”. Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. It’s only natural that we seek recognition for the things we do in life. As for me I look forward to a lot more birthdays, all the while trying to improve on my fifteen minutes of fame. My past contains a few minutes of fame I just as soon forget and since I’ve given them all to the Lord in baptism, I know I’ve been forgiven of them and they won’t ever again be accredited to my time on earth. I, nor anyone else, have any idea what tomorrow will bring. So for this fifteen minutes I’m going to please God, then the next fifteen, and then fifteen more. I will study God’s Word to learn how to do it better the next fifteen minutes, till comes my day in the box.

Ouch!!

Do you learn from your mistakes? I generally do, but it normally takes me three or four times before I get the point. It’s not that I want to make the same stupid decisions over and over again, its just that the human mind rationalizes that if you do something that has failed in the past a different way, the results will be favorable. We don’t even listen to experience half the time. “Don’t touch that, it’s hot!”; “Get down before you fall!”; “Slow down! You’re going to kill us all!”. Yeh, right. I’ve got full control here, not to worry. I’m not proud to tell you for many years I pointed my finger at others knowing what was right for them, all the while I was probably in worse condition than they. The human is so self serving it is willing to do most anything to “feel good”. A news report just the other night warned of a new twist on mind altering drugs aimed at our children. Methamphetamines, if you’re not very well versed about them, in my opinion, are equivalent to drinking a glass of gasoline while smoking a cigarette. If that doesn’t bother you, dealers are now adding a strawberry flavoring to their concoction hoping to hook an even younger group, which seems to have an endless flow of cash these days. We’re not learning from our mistakes, so neither can our children. Ouch!
A woman was a half a block from her home when she was stopped by the police. After pulling to the curb she wondered why she was being stopped. The patrolman asked to see her license and proof of insurance. Striking up a conversation the woman stated, “I’m so happy to see a greater presence of police patrol in our neighborhood. I’ve been complaining about the speeders flying up and down our streets for months now.” The patrolman replied, “Oh, in that case madam I’m pleased to report to you, we’ve just caught one of them.” Ouch! Are you a perpetrator of your own complaints?
A little shoeshine boy with ragged clothes and worn out shoes was shining the shoes of a wealthy man one day. While he worked he quietly sang, “Jesus loves me, This I know…” The man stopped the boy and asked, “If Jesus loves you so much, why doesn’t He tell some people to buy you some new shoes and better clothes?” The little boy looked up at his customer with tears in his eyes and replied, “Jesus did tell them mister, but I guess they just forgot.” Ouch! I guess we’re just too busy taking care of ourselves.
[Jeremiah 8: 4-17] Can we learn from the past? Should we try to learn from the past? If you have cause to want to go to heaven, you better learn from the past. In His infinite wisdom, God has seen to the preservation of the growth of His people. We know it as the Old Testament. In his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 10: 1-13), Paul states to the brethren that the recorded lessons of their forefathers are for their benefit, that they too may not fall into the same condition, finding themselves destroyed in the end. I find it comforting that God, like any good parent, gives us good examples of what not to do in this life, in order that He would be pleased with our service. And let’s understand one thing here. Satan is the underlying cause of all that is bad and wrong in this world. Built into obedience to Satan are automatic consequences, not as a direct punishment brought by God, but as the inherent results of sin. You cannot live wrong and die right. You cannot sow to the flesh and reap spiritual things. You cannot think wrong and live right. You cannot do the Devil’s work and draw God’s pay. Ouch!