Serenity

Have you seen the TV commercial where the scene is of a huge parking lot with one lone automobile parked in the middle of the vast open space? Then enters the biggest piece of junk excuse for a car, full of dents, smoking and making all kinds of weird noises. The driver circles the parking lot and decides to park mere inches from the only other car in the lot. My wife works at a local store with a busy parking lot, hence she parks her vehicle way out away from the excitement. Well, it got hit the other day and I don’t mind telling you I got a little excited when she called me on the phone, but I think I handled it a lot better than I would have a few years ago. I’ve never lacked the courage to jump into life’s little problems, although I’ve been known to be a little rough in my technique from time to time, due to the lack of wisdom. It’s said that serenity comes with age, then again so does senility, but either way, life just gets more enjoyable.
Most people have read or heard the Serenity Prayer, and if not, or you need a memory jog, here it is: “Dear God; Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference.” For those of you who have lived a long, serene, courageous and wise life, I submit to you another prayer, properly named the Senility Prayer which goes like this: “Dear God; Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway; The good fortune to run into the ones I do; And eyesight to tell the difference.” Here are a few wise sayings worth repeating also: When you finally get your head together, your body starts falling apart; All reports are in, life is now officially, UNFAIR!; It is easier to get older than to get wiser (in Texan: Too soon old; to late schmart!); It’s hard to make a comeback if you haven’t been anywhere; The only time the world will beat a path to your doorstep is when your in the bathroom; The only difference between a rut and the grave is the depth.
[John 4: 19-24] Another TV commercial is of a man with some children touring an art museum. The man says, “Can you hear them?” The children reply they couldn’t hear anything. “The pictures” the man explains, “Can you hear them talking to you?” “No” the children again reply, but this time with some inquisitive overtones. “Listen really close” says the man, “and you can hear them say ‘Keep me; Share me; Protect me and I will live forever!” The children began to understand the wisdom of their mentor and one by one exclaimed they could hear the pictures talking. In recent years, God and the Word of God have been pushed back into a dark corner where our children can barely make out the mentor of wisdom. In our daily life are we truly showing to them the love of God and the wisdom His Word brings forth? When we worship are we truly showing them how to worship in spirit and in truth? Is God active enough in your life you take time with your children and grand-children, teaching them to listen very carefully, because God is talking to them? Do you take the time show them the portraits of life God places before us every day? Do our children see God alive and active in their life? Do they know they can go to God for strength and wisdom? We must stop magnifying our problems and start magnifying God. Our children are going to follow our lead, be it good or be it bad. For the church to survive we must be teaching the next generation to Keep God; Share God; Protect God; And God will be with them forever. Think about it.

Lake Of Fire

What a hot spell we had. I think we were all looking to the big storms for some relief and some much needed rain, but all we got was hotter and drier weather. Well, it looks as if Autumn is finally going to slide in with some cooler temperatures. It’s sure good to walk out of the house at 7:15 in the morning and not have it be 85 degrees. A week of one hundred plus temperatures sure took a toll on the grass and trees. I’m not one to do much yard watering, but when the trees start shedding dry green leaves I break down and give them some water. Maybe the next cold front will be strong enough to push through our part of the country, triggering some much wanted rain showers.
“Bless this house, oh Lord, we cry; Please keep it cool in mid-July. Bless the walls where termites dine, where ants and roaches march in time. Bless our yard where spiders pass the fire ant castles in the grass. Bless the garage, a home to please carpenter beetles, ticks and fleas. Bless the love bugs, two by two; the gnats and mosquitoes that feed on you. Millions of creatures that fly or crawl, in Texas, Lord, you put them all! But this is home, and here we’ll stay; So thank you Lord for insect spray.”
You know you’re in Texas in summer when: The birds are using potholders to pull worms out of the ground; The trees are whistling for dogs; Hot water comes out of both taps; You can make sun tea in minutes; Seatbelt buckles become branding irons; You learn to drive with two fingertips on the steering wheel; The temperature drops below 95 degrees and you feel a little chilly; You break into a sweat when you step outside at 7:30 a.m.; You learn that asphalt has a liquid state; Potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is dig them up and add butter, salt and pepper; You see farmers feeding their chickens crushed ice so they won’t lay boiled eggs & Cows start giving evaporated milk.
[Revelation 20: 11-15] Lately I’ve been studying the concept of the negative side of eternal life, not that I’m afraid of ending up there, but how to teach someone they don’t want to go there. I’ve looked into the meaning of “Hell” & “Hades” and feel both refer to the grave, a physical dirt burial after death. It seems to make sense when you read this passage. “The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them…” So there are those dead in the sea and those who are dead, buried and unburied (cremated and scattered). “Then death (physical death, the last foe to be conquered) and Hades (the grave) where thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.” Standing before God the “books” will be opened, and the book of life will be opened. What you have done in life is recorded in the books and the dead will be judged by what is written. Too many people have the mind that their deeds will save them, but read on. “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” A study of “the book of life” finds that your name is in it before you’re born, but sin blots it out. As a child, sinless and guilt free, we are safe in the arms of God if death should come. But as a sinner, guilty of disobedience to God and his will for mankind, the only way we can be assured our name is in the book of life is to be baptized for the remission of our sins and live according to His will. The spirit never dies, so I understand, but if it’s thrown into the lake of fire I’ll but you’ll wish you could die again. Texas ain’t near as hot and there’s comfort in the arms of God.

Compassionate Compassion

Compassion is having sorrow for another’s sufferings and to be compassionate is to express that sorrow with some sort of action, a helping hand. I think it’s only natural for us to feel sorry for the millions of people having been displaced by weather related events this summer, but at the same time overwhelmed as to what we can do about it. I can remember as a boy the first time a deep seeded feeling of compassion pricked my heart. It was a cold winter day when I witnessed an old woman exiting a pharmacy, coughing loudly and really looking sick. Well, her coughing caused her to loose her grip on the brown paper bag she carried and as it hit the concrete sidewalk you could hear the bottle inside break. She started to cry watching the bag beginning to turn red, as it soaked up the contents of the bottle. I felt compassion, but knew not how to be compassionate. But a man nearby did, coming to her aid, comforting her and the last I saw, taking her back into the pharmacy. Every time I think about this, I pray he replaced her medicine.
At the judgment God won’t ask what kind of car you drove, but how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation. God won’t ask the square footage of your house, but how many people you invited into your home. God won’t ask about the clothes in your closet, but how many others you clothed. God won’t ask about your social class, but what kind of class you displayed. God won’t ask how many material possessions you had, but did they dictate your life. God won’t ask what your highest salary was, but if you compromised your principles to obtain it. God won’t ask how much money you spent on yourself, but how much did you give back to Him. God won’t ask how much overtime you worked, but was the overtime for yourself or your family. God won’t ask how many promotions you received, but how you promoted others. God won’t ask what your job title was, but if you preformed your job to the best of your abilities. God won’t ask what you did to help yourself, but what you did to help others. God won’t ask how many friends you had, but how many people to whom you were a friend. God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights, but how you protected the rights of others. God won’t ask in what neighborhood did you live, but how did you treat your neighbors. God won’t ask about the color of your skin, but about the content of your character. God won’t ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but how many times they didn’t. God won’t ask if His son loved you, but did you love Him.
[Psalm 112; Matthew 25: 31-46] Compassion is a personal and private thing, a feeling I may experience in a given situation, you may not and there’s nothing wrong with that. But to become a compassionate person I must act unselfishly toward that which I feel pity for. (Psalm 86) I serve a God who not only has compassion for me as the troubles of life invade and attempt to destroy my serenity, but my God is also compassionate toward me, active in my life. I pray to a compassionate God expecting an answer to my prayers with guidance in my everyday life. I pray God protect me from the evil one who lurks about watching and waiting to tempt me in a weak moment. I pray God will always show me a way of escape. Too often we seek God’s pity and demand a selfish solution. My life has become less troublesome since I’ve become compassionate and have learned that my God is active in my life and His compassionate grace is mine.

Child Of A King

In the wake of hurricane KATRINA, I have to admit I’ve been doing a little soul searching and counting of my blessings. Growing up I know my parents struggled to make ends meet, but both were very resourceful and unselfish when it came to family. The biggest disaster I ever remember being a part of was a couple of winter snow blizzards that produced cabin fever and sore backs from shoveling sidewalks and driveways clear of eight foot snow drifts. But still we were not forced from our dry warm beds. My dad never threw away anything, and fixed everything by recycling everything else. It’s been a tough transition for me getting used to a throw away world and don’t know if I ever will. Now I think, how would I react if tomorrow I lost everything? I mean everything! The following paragraph is an e-mail I received two days before KATRINA and it sort of put the disaster in perspective for me as I sit here in my comfortable chair watching the news trying to comprehend the true scope of what people are going through and the time it’s going to take to recover from this disaster.
“It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, reheating and renewing. I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste means affluence. Throwing away things meant you knew there’d always be more. But then my husband died. And on that cold, clear morning, in the warmth of our bedroom, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn’t anymore. No more hugs, no more special moments to share together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more “just one minute”. Sometimes what we care about most just gets all used up and goes away, never to return so we can say good-bye, say “I love you and will miss you”. So while we have it, it’s best we love it and care for it, fix it when it’s broken and heal it when it’s sick. This is true for marriage, and old cars, and children with poor report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they’re worth it and because we’ll miss them. Some things make us happy no matter what and one of those things is a great friendship. Life is important and people in it we know who are special, we keep them close. I received this from someone who thought I was a “keeper” and I sent it to the people I think of in the same way. Thank-you for being a special part of my life.” I also want to thank my readers for being a special part of my life and for your comments and support over the years. I pray our relationship holds true for a long time to come.
[1 Thessalonians 5: 1-24] No matter how well you plan, protect and preserve, the future is very bleak for all of us walking about this planet. The impending disaster of life is death and everything you have in this world will be gone. But as you read the scripture noted, you’ll find there’s great news for those who have a friend in Jesus. If Jesus has been the closest and dearest friend to you in life, fear not, for He will be looking for you when death overshadows you. I’ve been told you can’t prepare for death, but I tell you, you’d better prepare because there looms the greatest of disasters for those who are not prepared, a disaster that will last eternally. I have a friend in Jesus, a relationship rooted in truth and love, faith and trust. I have been adopted by His father into the family of God through baptism. I actually look forward to leaving this world, because I’m going to live like the child of a King for eternity with my Father in heaven.

Age Of Accountability

For some reason it seems that others declare it’s time we need to learn something or they determine we’ve become of age and must be doing certain things in our life. I’ll bet it wouldn’t take long for you to remember a time when you were intimidated into doing something you’d never done before and ended up looking like a fool because of it. I can name a number of times without thinking too hard, but this is probably the very first incident burned into my memory. I can remember my older siblings deciding it was time I learned how to ride a bicycle. I remember me being small and the bike being huge, and really not enthused about the passing rite at all. Impatience on my teachers part soon ended the lessons, and that was ok by me. But even at that young age I was determined to ride that bike, privately, all by myself and without witness of my failures, of which there were several. At the top of the hill where we lived it didn’t take much effort to get the bike moving downhill, it was the balancing act that had to be mastered. Then came my first real ride. It was shaky, scary and exhilarating all at the same time. But, the pride of success was suddenly overshadowed with fear, when I discovered that my previous lessons didn’t include how to govern the speed of the bike. I had no idea how to stop my new found mode of transportation. Needless to say, I crashed in a neighbor’s yard, without injury, and proceeded to put many miles on bicycles throughout my youth.
Here are ten things that aren’t easy to contend with in this life. 1) To shoulder a deserved blame. 2) To apologize. 3) To take advice. 4) To begin over. 5) To be unselfish. 6) To think before you act. 7) To profit from your mistakes. 8) To be considerate. 9) To forgive. 10) To keep on trying. I think that says it all.
[1 Peter 2: 1-3] It has been stated, and for some reason has developed into a sort of rite of passing, that there is an age of accountability to God solely based on the fact that at the age of twelve Jesus was found by his parents in the temple courts sitting among the teachers listening and asking questions. (Luke 2: 41-50) I believe and see the age of accountability to be when a person understands that their spirit is in peril because of sin and to bring it into a saved state they must rectify the situation. Here are ten things that I think we can teach to bring anyone to accountability. 1) You are created in the image of God. 2) You are wonderfully made. 3) God loves you. 4) You are the apple of His eye. 6) You can have peace every day. 7) You must follow His will. 8) Faith is the victory. 9) When you plant right, you will reap right. 10) You can do all things through Him who created all things. I cannot force my belief and faith on someone else. They alone have to come to an understanding of God’s plan for them and begin building their own faith. Why do so many fall by the wayside? I think because they feel they can do this on their own, privately, without witness of failures or embarrassment. “I’ve confessed my sins. I’ve been baptized. I’m saved. If I want to know more I’ll study on my own at my own pace.” In other words, “I’ve done what you told me to do, now leave me alone!” As faithful Christians I think we fail to show our new convert how to govern life and apply the brakes on the sinful things of the world. Consequently they end up crashing in their own will. In His commission Jesus said that we are to teach to understanding, and then to continue to teach to obedience of the will of God. Obedience is faith to salvation.