Jackass

Jeremiah tells of the vessel of clay which was marred in the hand of the potter (18:4); so he made it again, another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. The Lord said, “cannot I do with you as this potter, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine”. (Romans 9:21) “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another into dishonor?” From the same lump of clay the potter creates a beautiful vase for display in the parlor, and a chamber pot to hide under the bed. Have you given much thought to your role in life, what you are and what you ought to be?

God has given each of us different roles, talents and abilities. Jesus said, without me you can do nothing. Remember this when someone compliments you. It’s like complimenting the tool instead of the craftsman. Would you look at a finely built house and talk about what a good job was done by the hammer, or listen to a smooth running engine and brag on the socket set? Likewise, we’re just a tool in the Master’s hand.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of an ass. It was first told by the prophet Zechariah(9:9) over 400 years before the birth of Christ, and subsequently by Matthew(21:7), Mark(11:7), Luke(19:35) and John(12:14). A very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying; who is this? And the multitude said this is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. It must have been some sight, the garments and branches in the road, the multitudes, the shouting, cries of Hosanna, the whole city was moved.

It was no doubt a great honor for the little donkey to carry the Son of God into Jerusalem, but it would have been a gross mistake for him to have thought the shouting and celebrating was for him. When you’re complimented for presenting or representing our Saviour to the world, remember it’s not about you, like me, you’re still just the jackass.

Timing

Timing is so important. Don’t put off doing what you know God is calling you to do. Opportunities can be quickly lost. I visited an acquaintance in a Hospice Facility and was uplifted and encouraged by his attitude and cheerfulness. He had no fear of dying and was peacefully awaiting the arrival of the angels to take him to meet Jesus. When I left, I promised I’d be back. About a week later I felt a pull to go back and visit him, but was busy and put it off a couple of days. When I returned, I discovered he had died the day before. In this case, he was a Christian and I had heard him give his testimony, but what if he had been lost and I had delayed and missed the last chance to witness to him?

I believe that sometimes God intervenes in our lives to change the timing. When I’m stuck in traffic I wonder what is occurring down the road that God wanted me to avoid. In Ephesians 5:20 we’re taught to be thankful always for all things. What seems to be an inconvenience could be saving you from a catastrophe. We’ve all heard stories of people who worked in the Twin Towers and were delayed and spared on the morning of 9/11.

Most of us tend to procrastinate sometimes, especially with things we don’t particularly look forward to doing, but the Bible has a lot to say about assuming you can do it tomorrow:
Proverbs 27:1; “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
Luke 12:20, “But God said unto him, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be; which thou hast provided?”
James 4:13&14; “Go to now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain; Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow, For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Personal Testimony

God blessed me by allowing me to be born into a Christian home, with Christian parents that loved the Lord, each other, and my sisters and me. They worked hard, teaching us right from wrong and setting the right examples for us. I was exposed to the Gospel at an early age and gave my heart to Jesus while still a young boy. I’ve been a Christian for almost as long as I can remember, but I’ve not always lived and acted like it.

Jesus’ famous story about the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 is a good example of my spiritual experience. This young man had it all, born into a solid family with all the comforts and security, but wanting to experience more of life. My favorite verse in the story is Luke 15:17, “And when he came to himself.” When he came to himself and found himself among the swine, he said I will return to my father. His father welcomed him home and said this is my son who was lost and now is found. The story ends with a party and banquet honoring a good for nothing son who had sullied the family reputation. No one can drift so far away that they will not be welcomed home by our Father, and no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace.

I can’t point to a specific event or time in my life when “I came to myself”. There was no dramatic incident that changed my life. I was unhappy and God spoke to my heart and said come back to me and I will give you peace and return your joy. I did and He did. I began reading my Bible and studying every day and the more I learn the more I want to learn.

I can’t imagine starting a day without talking with God and reading His Word, and praising Him for the multitude of blessings He has poured out on me and my family.

God is good !

Follow the Leader

Like many small towns, my hometown of Hapeville Georgia was divided down the middle by rail road tracks. When we went to the Post Office, to church, to school or to Wilder’s Ice Cream Parlor, we had to cross the rail road tracks. In those days, many trains went through every day and waiting at the crossing for a train to pass was a common, everyday experience. Initially, this was scary for a little fellow because the trains were so big, fast and loud. But quickly it became nothing more than waiting at a traffic light for the cars to stop.

When I was 10 or 11 years old, some older friends taught me this neat trick of placing a penny on the track in front of the train. After the train passed, you found the penny and it would be smashed flat. The penny came out oval shaped, looking something like a little copper football. We would carry this smashed penny around as a lucky coin. For some reason, it seems we were not supposed to put the penny on the track until the train was in sight; I don’t know why this was, except it made the whole experience more exciting. It would take a second or two to get the penny balanced on the track, and then you ran as fast as you could to get out of the way of the train.

One day Anthony slipped in the gravel and fell by the tracks, escaping the train by only inches. We proudly told the story of how Anthony was almost killed by the train when explaining the game to new-comers. I guess it made us seem braver or gutsier or something, but it proved to be my undoing one day when Mama heard me telling the story to Charles. Mama did not find the game to be exciting, fun or intelligent and I was banned from the game for life.I tried to convince Mama that it was a safe game and explained how “everybody was doing it”, but she didn’t buy it.

I couldn’t guess how many times I tried to justify something I wanted to do by telling Mama “everybody else is doing it”, only to hear her say “if everybody else jumped off a bridge would you jump too” ? She never was one to go with the crowd. Mama believed like Ezra (10:11), “…..separate yourselves from the people of the land…..” “Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord…..” (II Cor. 6:17) “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil….” (Exodus 23:2) "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." (Col. 2:6).

We all want to be popular and have people to like us, and sometimes it seems the best way to achieve that is to follow the leader and blend in. But following Christ has never been about blending in.

Two Sticks

I hate politics, they seem to bring out the very worse in everyone, and have divided our nation. We endured eight years of “Clinton bashing” about his morals; followed by eight years of “Bush bashing” about his intelligence. Now we begin “Obama bashing” about his nationality, religion, loyalty, intentions or whatever happens to be the topic of the day. I’m sick of it. We’re so divided that we are not even “Americans” anymore; now one has to indicate their nationality with a hyphenated name. There is a firm line drawn in the sand between Republicans and Democrats, with no crossing allowed. Unfortunately it’s not drawn accurately, and there is in reality a lot of crossing back and forth in both directions. Recently, some of the most often forwarded items in my Email are quotations of Thomas Jefferson sent by my republication friends describing how the democrats are destroying our form of government. They don’t mention that Thomas Jefferson was a democrat.

Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand”. This is found in Matthew 12:25, and then for added emphasis or importance it’s repeated in Mark 3:24, and again in Luke 11:17. Jesus said that this division, if allowed to continue, will bring America to desolation.

Psalms 75:6&7; “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, But God is the judge: he putteth down one and setteth up another.” Romans 13:1, tells us to be subject unto the higher powers and that “there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God”. Solomon said’ “My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change”. (Proverbs 24:21) In Titus 3:1 we are told, to “be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work”. These scriptures tell me that after the election we need to stop throwing rocks at one another and get about the business of coming together as one people and one nation under God.

To bring the divided nation of Israel back together, God instructed Ezekiel (37:15-28) to take two sticks and write “For Judah” on one of them and “For Joseph” on the other, then hold them together and they would become one in his hand. He goes on to say, “I will make them one nation…..they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places where they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so they shall be my people, and I will be their God”.

We need an Ezekiel to write “For Republicans” on a stick and “For Democrats” on another and hold them together. Remembering that God told Ezekiel to “hold them together”, He didn’t say to take one stick and beat the other one to death with it or break one stick and throw it into the fire, just “hold them together and they would become one”.

Prayer

Voice of God
Chapter 19 of 1 Kings tells of Elijah fleeing from an angry Jezebel who has sworn to take his life. On Mount Horeb, believing he is he only one remaining on earth serving the Lord, he seeks God. A great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a still small voice, and it was so that Elijah heard the voice of God.

Prayer should be much more than a list of requests. It can include speaking, singing, praising, meditating and listening. Surely God can speak to us through the wind, earthquake, thunder or fire, but often it’s only during a quiet time of listening can we hope to hear the still soft voice of God.

We can reach out and touch God in prayer anytime and anywhere. You may have an unusual and strange place where you regularly pray. Jonah prayed out of the fish’s belly. Paul and the disciples prayed on the beach. Jesus prayed in the garden. The thief reached out and touched the Lord while hanging on a cross. I knew a lineman who said his most Spirit filled prayer came while hanging by his foot, upside down from a power pole.

Prayer is conversation with God and is not confined to a particular time or location. God is in all places at all times and will hear your prayer wherever you are, and whatever your circumstances. But to consistently hear the still soft voice of God, you need a quiet time and location. Jesus said to go into your closet and shut the door (Matthew 6:6). You also need a regular time for prayer, usually early in the morning is best, before you get involved in the activities of the day.

What Do You Really Need?
Acts 3:1-10 tells of Peter and John entering the temple at the hour of prayer and meeting a lame beggar asking for money. How many times have we all had such encounters? Certain locations are cluttered every day with folks asking for a handout. It’s usually the same people every day. Acts 3:2 says the lame beggar was laid daily at the gate of the temple.

The beggar fixes his eyes on Peter and John expecting to receive money from them. “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee”. “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk”……..”And he entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God”.

If he had received the few coins from Peter and John he requested, he no doubt would have been back in front of the temple the next day, begging alms from those passing by. But he received much more, he received life changing healing. The beggar thought he needed money, but Peter showed him that what he really needed was Jesus, and Jesus changed his life.

Have you had a similar experience? Prayed for something specific only to learn you needed something entirely different. Instead of a band-aid on your problem Jesus decides major surgery is more appropriate.

A farmer scratches out a living on forty acres of hard clay with an old mule and plow. When the mule dies, he prays for another mule. God says no to the mule and gives him a tractor instead. Sometimes instead of the short term fix we seek, God has for us a life changing experience. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray “Thy will be done”.

Intent

Intent: Having the mind or attention firmly directed or fixed; an act of purpose, will or determination.

How important is intent?

I remember times when my children would err and their immediate retort would include “I didn’t mean to”. They understood at a very early age how important it was that I knew that they didn’t do it on purpose. I had an employee once tell me I was lying, and I had to explain the difference between lying and being mistaken. I may have been wrong, but I certainly wasn’t lying because I believed I was correct.

In Matthew 23:23-36 Jesus addresses the matter of intent with the Pharisees; they were concerned only about outward appearances toward other men. They omitted fairness, mercy and love. Intent was very important to Jesus.

The scriptures tell us to surrender all our opinions, preferences and beliefs to the law of love. The law of love fulfills all other laws. Romans 13:10, “…..therefore love is the fulfilling of the law”. Galatians 5:14, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” James 2:8, “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:”

When we critique others for their lifestyle, diet, dress, hair or other personal preferences, we need to be careful of our intent. For when our opinions and preferences become more important to us than what God says is important to Him, we make idols of our own beliefs. When trying to influence others, the greatest force on earth is love.

Peace

Webster’s defines peace as: Freedom from disagreements or quarrels; harmony; undisturbed state of mind; absence of mental conflict; serenity; calm; quiet; tranquility.

Chastise means to punish. Jesus died for our sins; was punished for our peace; and by His stripes we are healed. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

How’s your peace of mind and mental state? Do you fret and worry, toss and turn at night? Are you calm, serene, tranquil? You should be Jesus made provision for your peace of mind.

Fearful Christians are an abomination to the Lord, it’s insulting to Him. They are saying to the Lord, “I can’t trust you”. He has promised to provide your needs and never to leave you, do you not believe Him?

Read Revelation 21:8 to see how God feels about the fearful and look at the company you’re keeping; “But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.”

We claim salvation through His death and blood; peace and mental health through His chastisement; and physical healing through his stripes…..they’re free gifts, paid up, waiting for you to claim them.

“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. Philippians 4: 6-7

Loving Others

When I first entered supervision, many years ago, I was taught to remain aloof, not to get close to my employees. I was told they would take advantage of me if they thought we were friends; that they would be looking for special favors. I even had one superior tell me that if my employees liked me, it was evident I wasn’t doing my job. Much advice was dumped on me that first year, but none worse that this. What I learned through experience, was the exact opposite.

When I was a craft employee, the supervisor who got the most out of me, my best effort, was the one who treated me with respect, the one who said, “I need your help please”. The supervisor that took me by the front of the shirt and tried to cram something down my throat got the least; he got minimum effort while he was watching, and even less when he wasn’t. What I learned through experience was that I was not that different from other craft employees, most folks react just like I had. I also learned that my “real” friends would come early, stay late and bust their backsides to get the job done. Time and again they pulled my fat out of the fire.

The greatest Teacher of all was our Lord Jesus. The scholarly religious leader Nicodemus said to Jesus, “We know that you are a teacher come from God” (John 3:2). We would be wise to follow His example in our relationships with others.

The Thirteenth Chapter of First Corinthians tells us of the importance of love in everything we do. Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels……though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries…….and have all knowledge…..and though I have all faith so I could remove mountains……and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and give my body to be burned…..if I don’t do it with love, I am nothing.

Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another…..These things I command you, that you love one another” (John 15: 12 & 17). The Apostle Paul said. “….ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another” (I Thess. 4:9). One of the most important lessons we can learn in life is to really love people.

Dr. W. A. Criswell preached for fifty-five years at the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. In a sermon on love, he said, ”However, eloquent we may be, however gifted, however wonderfully blessed of God with talent, if our spirit is crude and rude and rough, if our heart is not filled with the milk of human kindness, if we’re not actuated and motivated by a wonderful care and concern for God’s fellow creatures, our eloquence is like sounding brass and clanging cymbal. Our gifts of the spirit are nothing and our very philanthropies fall to the ground”.

Christ knows everything we have ever done, said or thought, and He loves us anyway. He is our example; that’s how He expects us to love others, “anyway”. It matters not what they do, say or think; we’re to love them anyway. It’s a lesson better learned sooner than later.

Pledge of Allegiance

In Malachi 2:15 we are told, “let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth”. I looked up treachery in my Webster’s and found; “a betrayal of trust, faith, or allegiance”. It occurs to me that this involves much more than the obvious; it covers all secrets from one another, and/or the betrayal of another’s privacy. It involves conveniently neglecting to advise of events or occurrences in which they would have a concern or interest; physical or verbal abuse; words intended to put down or hurt; comments made behind one’s back; a lack of openness or failure to share feelings; and any failure to apply the Golden Rule. Ephesians 5:25’ “Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it”. Maybe we need a periodic Pledge of Allegiance. “I pledge allegiance to my wife and to the family for which I stand, one union, under God, indivisible, with love and kindness for all”.

Fix it Daddy

I can remember when my children were toddlers, to get them off a swing set or down from some other high level, I would hold out my arms and say “jump”, I’ll catch you. When I said that, I had to be ready to catch him because it would no more be out of my mouth before he was sailing through the air into my arms. He never paused to think, or wondered if I could catch him, or considered what would happen if I missed him, or doubted my sincerity, or hesitated for any reason. Daddy said jump, he jumped with joy.

“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “except ye come as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”. He’s talking about the same childlike faith a child demonstrates when he dives into your arms; no pausing, no wondering, no considering, no doubts, no hesitation. When Jesus says “come”, jump into His arms, He will not fail you.

Romans 8:15&16 says, we have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father…..that we are the children of God. “Abba Father” translates into our “Papa”, or “Daddy”. The scriptures make it clear that our Heavenly Father wants us to have the closeness of a simple childlike faith in our relationship with him.

This childlike relationship also applies to forgiveness for our sins. My children never brought something broken to me and asked what caused it to fail, or blamed the breakage or the manufacturer, or poor quality materials or workmanship. They never asked for an explanation or an opinion, nor offered one; they simply held it up and said “fix it Daddy”. Sometimes we need to stop trying to explain our failures and problems to God and just ask Him to “fix it”.

Diseases

I am told “Alcoholism” is a medical condition that can be diagnosed and treated, like any other medical condition. And, that “Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)” is a condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years, making it hard for them to control their behavior and/or pay attention. A once-daily medication is recommended to solve this problem. My most recent discovery was that adults can suffer from a ”Discipline Deficiency Disorder” condition which adversely affects their ability to perform their job. I assume we are looking for a pill to solve this problem too. It seems that all of our problems and wrongdoings can be related to diseases and illnesses and then treated with medication.

I’m not qualified to be judgmental about the accuracy of these approaches to our problems and wrongdoings, but these “disease” definitions leave something out. They leave out “guilt”. If it’s a disease I have, then how is it my fault? I’m not a drunk that needs to change his behavior, I just “caught” alcoholism, and need medication. That child doesn’t have a behavior problem that needs the attention called for in Proverbs 22:15, he just happened to catch “ADD”, and needs medication. This man isn’t a lazy bum, he just was exposed to DDD, and needs medication.

This may be the work of the Devil, removing personal responsibility for actions, and giving an “not my fault” excuse. Can you see how this robs a man of the opportunity to repent, which is first step toward forgiveness and salvation (If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. —1 John 1:9)
Trying to hide our personal responsibility when we’ve done something wrong comes naturally. We feel guilty, but our desire to avoid admitting our responsibility is stronger than our guilt and the “disease” approach to our wrongdoings makes it easy. After all, it’s really not my fault.

If you’ve sinned, it’s time to say so. God is offering His cleansing and forgiveness, but it must start with repentance.

O Lord, help me to come to You; When I would rather hide my sin; Give me the courage to confess; So I can be made clean within. (Sper)