Rubber On The Road  

My little red headed niece, Samantha, came stomping in the door Sunday afternoon and marched right up to my elbow in the kitchen. 

I was leaning over the oven, checking the pot roast. She planted herself firmly at my side, crossed her arms and boldly proclaimed:  “I’m praying for you cause you don’t go to church!”  

Puzzled, I said, “WHAT are you talking about?  I’m always at church!”  Her little freckled face crinkled in concern, she eyeballed me up and down with those BIG blue eyes and said, “Well I never SEE you there!”  

I stood up, shut the oven door and looked at that little red headed bundle of concern for my soul. Oh that we all loved so much that we spoke that boldly! 

I explained to her how as soon as they said ‘amen,’ I’m out the door on the way home so I can finish getting dinner ready to put on the table.  I could see that she was thinking about that. 

The look of relief on that little face–it was SO graphic!  She unfolded her arms, physically relaxed, grinned real big and sighed, “OHhhhh, ok—that makes sense.” I assured her that I loved the Lord with all my heart and that being with God’s people encouraged me.  Throwing her arms around me she whispered, “I love you, Aunt Annie.” 

As adults, we don’t think that little kids pay attention to what we do.  Truthfully, not only do they see what we do, they see the things we don’t do and wonder why. Perhaps you enjoy the seclusion of your bedroom to do your daily devotions and talk with the Lord.  “Baby blue eyes” only notice they never see you read your Bible. 

You may be having a rough morning getting organized but all “baby blue eyes” see is that getting ready for church makes you mad.

Make sure that you allow your children to see you with your Bible in hand.  Make sure your children know you pray.  Set aside daily strife and let those eyes see you happy to go to church. 

Our actions/attitudes speak much more to our children than our words. Children can’t read your mind or your heart, all they know is what their eyes see and their ears hear. 

I Thessalonians 2:7-8  For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

My friend and I were on a tour of the Coca Cola bottling plant. The final feature of the tour was the product museum. Every flavor of coke ever created was featured for a ‘tasting’. 

We were enjoying our ‘tasting tour’, moving down the line cafeteria style.  It was surprising to see how many flavors had been made compared to the number of flavors that actually made it into production.

Lively music was playing and she and I were dancing along, tasting and giggling. My friend’s comments on some of the crazy flavors that “never passed the taste test” were making me laugh! 

Turning forward to make sure there were no obstacles to trip over, I found myself nose to nose with the woman in front of me. As I made an ecstatic utterance of surprise the lady also squealed and then, SLAM, I ran slap into ——-the mirror.  

There had been no lady in front of me; it had been my own reflection! When I hit the mirrored glass wall, I lost my balance, fell backwards on my rear and threw the beverage all over my own face!  

Needless to say, everybody, including me, laughed at the crazy woman sprawled on the floor with Coke dripping from her nose. The mirror had not only been the cause of my misfortune, it served to display my undignified landing to everybody in the room. Mercy!  

Life has its share of embarrassing moments.  Our humanity can leave us in some unusual, albeit funny to an onlooker, situations.  

What better time to realize that ‘stuff’ happens to us all!  No person alive ever lived without an embarrassing moment at some point in their life; more often than not—there are MANY! 

Satan loves to take these moments that are so much a part of life and magnify them, point to them and use them to tear down our confidence and humiliate us.  One of satan’s favorite taunts is, “you look stupid!”  Genesis 1:27 says we are created in God’s image; notice the basis of the insult?

When I look at myself with a Biblical perspective of self esteem I see myself realistically and accept myself as I am, fragile in my humanity while perfect in Christ.  

With the help of the Holy Spirit, reading the word and the encouragement found through fellowship with other Christians; I know my state of human inperfection is only temporary.

II Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

One day, my young grandson met me at his front door. Pulling me aside, he said, “Mamaw, I have to talk to you about a bad word.”  I sat down beside him and asked what this “bad word” was that he was so concerned about.  Wide eyed, he very seriously told me that his teacher had accidentally put it on a homework paper.   

I told him to show me the word; I was sure he was mistaken.  He brought me his homework assignment paper, holding it close to his chest so the “bad word” couldn’t be seen.  Shaking his head, he said, “Mamaw, I can’t show it to you, I don’t want your eyes to have to see it.”   

I assured him that since it was on a homework paper, it just couldn’t be that bad!  His little face was wide eyed, full of concern for the potential loss of his grandmother’s innocence. Unfolding the paper, I read the short paragraph alerting the parents that tomorrow, the students would begin to study fulcrums. 

Trying my best not to laugh, I told him that fulcrum was NOT a dirty word it was a science word meaning they would learn about levers. The look of relief on his face was precious!  He hugged me and sheepishly told me that it had sure looked like a bad word!   

As adults we are daily exposed to real dirty words.  Words that the world thinks are acceptable.  It is easy for these words to hide in our minds and pop out of our mouths in moments of anger, fear or frustration.  Sometimes, these unacceptable words pop out because we’re trying to ‘fit in.’

The Word of God says that we should make sure that every word that we speak is pleasing to God.  We have no choice but to live in the world, but, we need to make sure our hearts are sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that we do not allow the words of the world to become part of our vocabulary.   

(Ephesians 4:29)  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

 Wait!  I Don’t Like This!

Ephesians 4:31

At a family dinner gathering, the blessing was said and we all reached for our plates. Four year old Zac looked down at the plate his mother had prepared for him, threw up his arms and yelled, “WAIT, we have to pray again because I DO NOT LIKE my food!”

The childish proclamation was funny but in reality, Christians do this all the time.  God determines the things that are allowed to come into our lives, even the bad things have to pass God’s scrutiny. (Job 1: 6-12) When the stuff that happens to us is a little uncomfortable, we swallow hard and quote scripture, rebuke the devil and “handle.”  We don’t LIKE it, but, hey, sometimes life is—not tasty.

One of the hardest things to handle is when we are used as tools to work in the lives of others.  We have no idea what’s going on, why ‘we’ got hurt or what God’s doing through us.  We only know that suddenly, life is not fair! We hurt or have been hurt terribly and even though we pray and search our own heart, we can find no reason for our circumstance. We feel like God’s gone to the beach to work on His awesome tan and we’re left in the middle of a pit of alligators—feeling bitten and bloody!

Joseph, when he was thrown into the pit and then later into jail, is one scriptural illustration of how God used an individual’s suffering to work His will for others. Satan’s plans are for destruction, God’s plan is to use that destruction to build and strengthen. There are times when God chooses to use another person’s pain to change “me” and times God uses my suffering to change others.

Disobedience and sin always have a price that is paid in the lives of others. Sin is an equal opportunity destroyer, giving both sinner AND victim a choice. It is up to the sinner to choose repentance or continued sin. The victim must choose forgiveness or bitterness as an outcome. Bitterness is recognized as equally undesirable along with anger, fighting and rage in Ephesians chapter 4.

Far down the road, past the painful event in our lives, we sometimes can see what God was doing, sometimes not.  But always, in all ways, God directs and uses everything that happens to us, whether for us or for others, to us or through us; be patient and thankful—in all things.  God is good; ALL the time.

Ephesians 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Prayer: Father God, help me to recognize that satan’s plan is always a plan of destruction. I recognize that destruction can come as anger and bitterness through unforgiveness of sin committed against me. Help me to not only forgive but to not allow bitterness to grow in my heart. Amen.

 Scriptural references:

Job 1: 6-12 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied.  “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.

But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”  The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger. Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Even though I don’t have a green thumb, I planted a rose. After weeks of tender loving care, my little rosie burst into bloom! And what a lovely bloom! 

I carefully cut it and ceremoniously carried it into the house and put it into a glass of water. The fragrance was sooooo sweet!  

Traditionally, Jesus is sometimes called the Rose of Sharon. However, the term is only used once in the Bible and it wasn’t in reference to Jesus (Song of Solomon 2:1). The term is not even found in ancient texts; making its first appearance in 1611 in the King James Bible. 

Nevertheless; “The Rose of Sharon” is traditionally used as symbolism to represent Christ. Tradition and poetic license can be beautiful, albeit; misleading. However, the scripture does use ‘fragrance’ as an illustration of Christ in us.  

In Philippians 4: 18, the Apostle Paul used the illustration of fragrance to show the church at Philippi how God views acts of giving. When we love Him the “fragrance” of our attitudes through witness and giving rise before Him and give Him great pleasure.  

In II Corinthians, Christ in us is described as an “exquisite fragrance”.  Much poetic license has been taken in calling Jesus “the rose of Sharon”.  But, the “fragrance” of Christ in my own life should be very real; filling the room with Christ’s love wherever I go.  

 II Corinthians 2: 14-15—In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.  (The Message)

The news media is filled with articles about murder and mayhem!  Not just bad stuff, but stuff so evil that it makes your blood chill! How can this be?  How can a loving God allow people to do horrible things?

What about the promises in the scripture about protection and sanctuary?  If we can’t rely on God’s protection in this onslaught of evil, what hope do we have? 

The common response, “bad things happen to good people” (Matthew 5:45) can leave a mental anguish and fear that can be debilitating. We want more than trite answers for those times when evil seems to mow down the righteous without rhyme or reason. Why DOES God LET bad things happen?   

We all have the God-given freedom to make life choices. God does not make us serve Him nor does He make us behave. We don’t question our right to make unwise choices, why should we be amazed when evil people use that same freedom? 

Although terrible things can and do happen to Christians, we can recover!  Even in disaster we have a choice; to run away from God or TO Him.  Satan delights in the times our pain leaves us foundering, crying ‘why?’.  Satan will even do everything imaginable to magnify our suffering.   

God’s heart is broken when we, saint and sinner alike, use our free will to seek the world rather than seek Him. God gave His son to give us the freedom of choice that we enjoy. Every day, we make the individual choice of faithfulness to God or rebellion against God.  Choice, it’s a “ME” thing.   

Galatians 5:13  You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  

The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Pradis CD-ROM:Gal 5:13. Grand Rapids: The Zondervan Corporation, © 1973, 1978, 1984.

One of my favorite children’s stories was Hansel and Gretel. Not because it was about good overcoming evil.  It was about the bread crumbs.  The kids left a trail of bread crumbs.  Even as a child, I could get lost in my own neighborhood. Study courses on memory improvement haven’t helped.  My mind is like a steel trap; once information is inside, it can’t get out.

Whenever I go anywhere, I always mentally mark my path and then allow an extra 30 minutes to anticipated travel time to get “unlost.”  The most useful method of getting back on track is to turn around and go back to where I started from. So simple and it works every time.

First, I have to admit I’ve gotten off track, then, I go back to where I lost my way. Once back on the right path, I can hold my head high because I chose to start over instead of continuing in the wrong direction. Pride doesn’t matter; the only thing that matters is that I make my way home before I get hurt.

In our Christian walk, it’s the same way. Every now and again, we realize that somehow, we’ve gotten off track.  We look around us and discover “this” isn’t where we intended to be.  No body ever wakes up one morning and makes a conscious decision to stop serving God. It’s a gradual process, made one casual decision at a time.

We get caught up in our daily activities and serving God is what we intend to do—but—first, I have to do this, be here, go there–.  Tomorrow, I’ll start doing my devotions again.  This Sunday, I’ll start going to church again. Each day, it gets easier to keep on our “new” road.  In time, our new road is the familiar road and we look back less and less.

Right now, let’s stop and look behind us. Are we faithful in keeping our daily conversation time with God, do we fellowship with Godly people, does our lifestyle reflect Christ?  Or can we look behind us and see we’ve slowly lost our way?  If so, turn around now, go back the way you came and get back on track.

Psalms 139: 23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please forgive me if I’ve lost my way. Give me a tender heart so I can hear the voice of your Holy Spirit and know how to keep my path straight. Help me to be aware of life’s little side trips so that I know to keep my eyes on you. I love you. Amen.

Mercy, it’s cold outside!  Freezing temperatures with a harsh north wind, brrrrr.

It seems the house temp won’t rise above 70* no matter how high I set the thermostat! I’m standing here with my sweater on drinking hot beverages to get warmer.

The thought occurs to me that a few months ago, I was standing in this same spot, the thermostat on 70*.

But, I was turning the air conditioner to colder because 70* was just too hot to bear inside the house.  I was fanning myself and drinking cold beverages to get cooled down.  Hmmm. 

It seems to be human nature to not be satisfied. The Apostle Paul said (Philippians 4:12) he’d come to the place where he was content, no matter what his circumstances. Whether in plenty or poverty, he was ‘good’ with it.  Wow!  

In looking at our lifestyles; we have more of everything than any other people on the planet. Certainly more than our parents and grandparents had! Yet, we are obsessed with ‘more’. We work longer and harder to get more; then, we still aren’t satisfied.  (Haggai 1:6) 

In I Timothy 6:6-8, we read, “But godliness with contentment is great gain—“.  So, how do we get to this place in our lives where we really do have enough?  Since it seems to be human nature to want more, how do we get to this place of contentment with — dare I say it? Just God.  

“I can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13)  is preceded by Paul’s revelation that he could live with little or much, it didn’t matter, as long as he had Christ. Only when we have Christ strong in our life can we be content with any circumstance; we don’t rely on what is around us to give us joy. 

When we make the focus of our life on ‘having things’ instead of having a relationship with the Lord, we lose sight of what is really important.  

We can only be content in every circumstance when we allow Christ in our life to the fullest. When we love Christ, we live Christ and then we have the strength He gives us to be content—no matter what.  

Philippians 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Since entering that stage of life where kids call me mamawl, I’ve put on some weight. As a hefty non-dressy grandma, it’s really difficult to find clothes that look good….or should I say, look good ON me.  

Fashion pros say that there are certain styles and prints that I can wear that will make me look thinner.

Unfortunately, these garments don’t change my physical dimensions; they only draw attention away from the obvious.

However, the Word tells me that there is a garment that I can wear that does change me; the garment of a servant. Like any other garment, I must choose to put it on.  

Once I choose to put on my servant garment, my concern is for the needs of others instead of my own personal needs. Sometimes, wearing my servant garment brings no acknowledgement for hard work. (Luke 17:7-10)  

This is ok because I don’t wear the garment of a slave; a slave has no choice. The servant’s garment is put on voluntarily. When I put on the servant garment it is in full knowledge that much is required; often with little recognition.  

Lots of people make much ado about wanting to be a servant. But they don’t understand it isn’t something God makes you into; it is something you choose to do.  

Scripture says that when we do choose to be servants we choose a better way. However, once we are servants; we no longer pay attention to our status. We want only to please our Lord. 

Matthew 23: 11-12 The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Luke 12:15

A dear friend of mine slipped on the ice outside her home and took a tumble. Thankfully, she wasn’t seriously hurt!  

When she told me about her mishap, she said she wasn’t being overly careful because it didn’t look dangerous.  She concluded, “If it had looked like ice, I’d have stayed off it.”

In life, it isn’t the sins that look like sin that tempt Christians. I know that the sins of murder, stealing and lying are wrong. No Christian would deliberately sin!  But the sins of the heart are subtle and don’t seem as ‘real.’   

Christians often don’t even recognize greed as being a sin. If fact, ‘we’ rarely even recognize greed at all. But, the Word reveals greed as being a sin! (Romans 1:29, I Corinthians 5:9-12)  Greed was placed on the same level as wickedness in Luke 11:39.  

In Luke 12:15, Jesus warned His followers that we are to ‘watch out’ and guard our hearts against being greedy. He advised that ‘life’ isn’t about having a lot of ‘stuff’.  So, are we to live as paupers and have no ‘stuff’ at all in order to please God?  That doesn’t sound reasonable.

What is greed? Greed is defined as a selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed.  Greed isn’t having a lot of stuff; it is never being content with what you have.  

When loving Jesus is the focal point of my life; I keep the pursuit of material things in balance. Anytime my priorities get out of line and I begin to focus on ‘having stuff’, I’m starting to slip slide away. 

Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Prayer: Father, help me to recognize the subtle sins, like greed. Make my heart sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that I am not easily fooled by sins that the world accepts as common. Give me a generous heart and a contagious Spirit so that I give freely of all that I have. Thank you for your many blessings. Amen.

 Scriptural References:

Romans 1:29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips–,

 I Corinthians 5:9-12 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—  not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.  But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

 Luke 11:39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.