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).

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?

Our Foolish Ways

I’ve found that there are all kinds of different workers in this world. There’s the perfectionist, me. If a job isn’t worth doing right the first time, just leave it be. Of course the perfectionist is hard to work with, but there’s a greater satisfaction in a job well done. Then there’s the person who thinks they know what their doing, but have no clue. Yeh, they have some knowledge of the area in which they are working, but leave them alone to do a specific task and generally you’ll wish you hadn’t. The worker that always did the most griping and complaining was the one who is constantly inventing ways to get out of work, all the while complaining of not enough pay. Of course there was always a gossiper, or story-teller, in among the workforce, who always had a new piece of information to share about someone else. One learns to be very careful what parts of your life you share with this sort of comrade. But, the worker I totally detest is the prankster. This is the guy who always showed up to bump your arm, or pinches the back of your leg, or sneaks up to make a loud noise at the most inopportune times. I’ve been locked in airplanes, had a dead snake tossed at me while I was literally standing on my head working under the dashboard of a car, (not a good scene), and many other pranks inflicted, resulting in personal injury or job interruption, much to my chagrin and their laughter. Pranksters have no regard for safety, thus I have no use for them.
In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that the atheist had no such recognized days, looking to abolish all religious noted days and holidays in the country. The case was brought to the courts being passed on until it reached the state supreme court. After listening to the passionate presentation by the complainant’s lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, “Case dismissed!” The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling, saying, “Your honor, how could you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays…” The judge leaned forward in his chair and interrupted, “Oh, but they do! Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant.” The lawyer replied, “Your honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists…” Again the judge interrupted, “The calendar says that April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, ‘The fool says in his heart, there is no God’. Thus it is the opinion of this court that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st of each year is his day. Court is adjourned!” You gotta love a judge who knows his scripture.
[Psalm 14; Psalm 53; Romans 3] “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’. They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” Psalm 14 and 53 are nearly twins. Whenever I think as a perfectionist that I can do it all on my own, I am a fool. When I think I know it all, I am a fool. When I complain about life and how it should be better, I am a fool. Whenever I tear up or run down another’s work in the Lord, I am a fool. Whenever I totally disregard God’s law, I am a fool. I’m not perfect, but when I push God aside, I am a fool. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God, but through Jesus we have forgiveness of sins, and we can set aside our foolish ways.

Have a Good Laugh

I think the world is so messed up at this time, we all need a little lift of spirit and the best way I know to lift my spirit is to have a good laugh. So this week, with tongue in cheek, I think I’ll present a little Bible history lesson. I’m still going to close with a sincere thought or two. Just remember the famous words of Abraham Lincoln; "The problem with quotes on the Internet is, you can never be certain they're authentic."
In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader called “Abraham of Com” did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot. And “Dot of Com” was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she had often been called “Amazon Dot Com”. And she said to Abraham, her husband, “Why dost thou travel far from town to town with thy goods when thou can trade without ever leaving thy tent?” And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddlebags short of a camel load, but simply said, “How might I do that my dear?” And Dot replied, “I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply telling you which hath the best price. And then the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah’s Pony Stable (UPS).” Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever moving from his tent. But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete (look it up, it means to hide) himself inside Abraham’s drum and the young man did take to Dot Com’s trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. He was soon discovered and was accused of insider trading. And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed a band of rebels called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for short, trying to hack into the service and above all, no one noticed that the real riches were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought up every drum company in the land. And indeed he did insist on making drums that would work only with Brother Gates’ drumheads and drumsticks. And Dot did say, “Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others.” And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it came to be known, eBay, he said, “We need a name that reflects what we are.” And Dot replied, “Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.” “YAHOO!”, exclaimed Abraham. And that’s how it all got started.
[Matthew 19: 13-15; Mark 10: 13-16; Luke 18: 15-17] I think God has the greatest sense of humor. I look at what he has made in wonder and amazement, some things common in appearance, some frightening and some only a mother can love. I stand in awe of the wonders of this world and yet I can see the humor involved in the task of making it all. I think God thoroughly enjoyed himself for six days as he put together the wonders we now enjoy. I can only imagine the smiling face of my redeemer, the laughter he exhaled as a child and as an adult. Children were drawn to Jesus and parents brought their babies and children for him to touch and bless. This is a man with an inviting smile and open receptive arms for the innocence of children. He listened to them and laughed with them. Jesus says we must become as little children to enter the kingdom. We must be innocent, care free and dependent. We need to laugh with God.

God Is Always With Us

I would guess that on Friday evening last nearly everyone was once again counting their blessings and praying for earthquake ravaged Japan. The feared tsunami theory is now reality and it has many people sitting up straight in their cushy office chair taking notice. The Pacific west coast naysayers stood in awe as they watched their pleasure cabin cruisers and yachts get tossed about like toys in several harbors when the wave arrived from Japan. No, it wasn’t a big wave, but more a swell of ocean water by the time it traveled 5000 miles, nevertheless, destructive as had been predicted and promised by scientists. Japanese officials are equally surprised at the size of the tsunami as it entered their shores. The wave, about 35 feet high at the beach encroachment, traveled inland over 6 miles and destroyed everything in its wake. It is thought that some of this land had actually dropped in elevation and may never be dry again. 100,000 people plus have lost everything they ever possessed. Homes, businesses, farmlands, vehicles, animals and the lives of who knows how many people have been lost forever. Like a thief in the night and worse than an invading enemy, an earthquake has robbed and pillaged the northern sector of the island of Japan. What was once a productive region of commerce now lays waste. This is nothing new under the sun. We know fierce earthquakes and floods and tsunamis and tornadoes and whatever more evil destructive things you can think of, have existed since the birth of our planet and there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m sorry we keep multiplying and getting in the way. As usual the world will join hands in love and concern with whatever is needed to help the people of Japan recover from this devastating event in history. Do you now believe in the reality that tomorrow you too could lose it all?
Soon after Ralph died, his lawyer stood before the family and read Ralph’s Last Will and Testament. “To my dear wife Mary, I leave the house, 50 acres of land and 1 million dollars. To my son Michael, I leave my big Lexus and the Jaguar. To my daughter Suzy, I leave my yacht and $250,000. To my brother-in-law Jeff, who always insisted that health is more important than wealth, I leave my sunlamp.”
A Sunday school teacher asked the class to draw a picture illustrating a Bible story. Little Johnny drew a picture of a big car. An old man was driving, whiskers flying in the breeze. A man and a woman were sitting in the back seat of the car. Puzzled, the teacher asked Johnny to explain what Bible story he had in mind as he drew his picture. “That’s God in his car. He’s driving Adam and Eve out of the garden.”
[Ecclesiastes 5: 8 – 6: 12] Yes, even the first couple lost everything once. It was due to their disobedience true enough, but all was lost. If everyone in the world suddenly became righteous in God’s sight, would all the bad things of this world go away? I doubt it very much. Life is what it is, unpredictable. So, is it wrong to have gain and enjoy it? Not at all! Just don’t hold on to your stuff to tightly. The teacher reminds us, (v.15) “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs.” Job witnessed the same thing (Job 1:20-21) and added, “…The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (v.22) In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Where was God during the earthquake? The same place he was when his own son died. God is always with us, no matter the trial.