Worn Out or Washed Up
Cotton or polyester/cotton blend? Which do you prefer in handkerchieves? Cotton ones can be bleached and are soft and absorbent. Blended ones don’t need ironing and are lighter. Cotton wears out after hard use. Blended loose brightness and the cotton aspect washes out after many washings leaving only a polyester cloth that won’t absorb snot. Some Christians are like that. Some look worn out from overuse. Some look washed out after having been cleansed from sin so many times they are of no earthly use. Both types become useless. Oh my, where’s the Kleenex?
John 5:14 (NASB)
“Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said unto him, ‘Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.'”
I Didn’t Know You Were Gone
I had missed a couple of weekly pastors’ meetings, so I asked James, “Did you miss me while I was gone?”
His cute answer was a match for my dry humor: “I didn’t know you were gone.”
Well, it has been quite a while since I posted on this site, but I am not going to ask if anyone missed me. [I’m not sure anyone will even be reading this anyway.]
Instead, as the Lord wills and the Spirit directs, I will be posting here on a weekly basis. Since I am retired from pastoring full time, I have more time to devote to writing. I just don’t know if there is any interest in what this old man has to say – after all I have said it all before. Surely, none of my former members have forgotten anything I’ve said from the pulpit…surely.
I’m back!
3 John 1:4 (KJV)
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
Pew Rage
Through the years I’ve driven many miles and have seen “road rage” a few times. Ugly. Destructive. Pointless. Often it’s aimed at someone or something that one doesn’t like.
Through forty-five plus years preaching and pastoring, I’ve seen the same thing in churches, “Pew Rage.” Church-members getting perturbed at other members and/or staff. It’s just as ugly, destructive and pointless.
More often then not, we’re guilty of the same things that tick us off. Oh, I know: “It’s different when I do them.”
The answer is to get out of the fast lane if you can’t go with the flow. Instead, live in the right lane and obey the Law of God. You may have a driver’s license but your best option is to live righteously.
Matthew 7:3 (NIV)
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
Make an Impact
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”
John, Paul, George and Ringo. Yes, forty years after the breakup of the Beatles, we still remember their names. Even though they only worked together as a group for only 8 years, they have had a major and long-lasting impact on the music industry and our world.
You and I can also impact other people’s lives as we let God use us as the unique individuals we are and as a group united together in Jesus.
Make an Impact!
Praying for Mean People
Filed under: Weekly Blog | Tags: mean people; 2 Corinthians 8:11
Comments (1) At this time of the year, I’m impressed to pray for all the mean people I know. This includes:
those people who make resolutions they mean to keep, but don’t
Those who mean well, but make matters worse;
Those who mean to accept Jesus, but just not now;
Those who mean to pray for you, but never do;
Those who mean to change, but stay the same.
I pray these will not only start well (mean well), but finish well.
2 Corinthians 8:11, NIV
Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.
On Backing Up
Arkansas still has some of those anomalies called One Lane Bridge. If you meet another vehicle on it, one of you will have to back up before either of you will continue your journey.
Often in our relationship with others we encounter an impasse. It may be because our purposes or our priorities or our paths don’t agree. May The Lord grant us the wisdom to know when to back up so that everyone can go forward.
Romans 12:10, NASB
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.”
Dreams of Heaven
Filed under: Weekly Blog | Tags: Heaven, Psalm 17:15, satisfied
Comments (2) I dreamed I was in Heaven. I was standing by the River of Life and Jesus said “Drink freely my child.” So I dipped my 24 ounce glass into the cold water and took a big drink. This indeed was Heaven – the water tasted exactly like Dr Pepper.
While there are some things we know about Heaven -there is a river of water of life. Some things we can reasonably assume, the water is cool. Many things we can dream about – what does the water taste like? However, most things we can’t begin to imagine. But of two things I’m sure: I will be there by the grace of God and the blood of Jesus and I will be satisfied
Psalm 17:15, NASV
[15] As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.
Looking Good or Good-Looking?
“I look better without glasses,” he said.
“You look nice in glasses,” she said.
“No. I meant that when I look in the mirror, I look better if I don’t wear my glasses.”
The Holy Spirit is God’s gift of glasses for us so that when we look in the mirror of His Word, we can see ourselves more clearly. Our problem often is that we don’t like what we see and don’t do anything about it.
James 1:23, NIV
Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”
No Third Options
I asked my host: “Do you want me to strip the bed or make it?”
“Just leave it,” he replied.
“That’s not one of the options,” I said.
So I repeated the question, and he repeated his answer.
Man is like that with God. God always gives us two options and we seem to want a third. To Adam God said that if you eat of the tree in the midst of the garden, you will die. Eat and die or don’t eat and live. Instead man wanted a third option: eat and live. That’s not one of the options.
1 John 5:12, NIV
“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Conflict of Interests
Filed under: Weekly Blog | Tags: conflict of interests, Galatians 5:17, war of natures
Comments (1) We (Alma and I) own the property at 1813 TP White Drive in Jacksonville. We own Century 21 Prestige Realty and rent the property at 1813 TP White Drive for our office. We want to charge more for rent, but we don’t want to pay any more for rent. A dilemma? A conflict of interest? Whatever!
What I want through my human nature is not what I want through His Divine nature that is in me. And vice versa. This conflict can end only with the defeat of one or the other. Whichever nature I nourish is the one that wins.
Galatians 5:17, NIV
“For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”
ReMarcks 