Unexpected Impressions

 Consider This, Misc.  2 Responses »
Jul 132010
 

I went to a funeral this Sunday and I will attend another before the week is out.  A member of my Sunday School class passed away last week.  It was pretty unexpected from what I hear. Mowing grass one minute, then with Jesus shortly thereafter.  Tammy and I were taking food for the family when I heard about the second one.  A co-worker at my company – a guy who was just in my office on Friday – was killed in a car accident on Saturday.

I know that people are living and dying every day.  And I am sure many people have had to face death in a more close and personal way than I have.  One thing is for sure.  We all face it.  Most of us will face it many times before the final time.

When I was about 14 years old, I had an encounter with death. It happened in the woods beside our house.  A baby bird, a blue jay, had fallen out of the nest.  It was too young to fend for itself so I tried to take care of it, but ultimately failed.  It died.  I cried.  I have had much more serious encounters with death before and since that episode but I still remember how sad I felt that day.  I remember feeling embarrassed because the death of this one baby bird affected me so.  Even today, I don’t know why it affected me so deeply.  It left an impression.

That’s the thing about death.  It always leaves an impression.  These two deaths have impressed me with the realization of how quickly and unexpectedly life on this earth can end.  Our spirits are housed in a wonderful, but fragile bit of clay.  It is in times like this that I cling to the spirit, and hold the clay a little less tightly.  It is, after all, dust that will slip through your fingers no matter how tightly you hold on.

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
      – Romans 8:10-11　

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 Consider This  1 Response »
Jun 252010
 

What if Jesus had insisted everyone be grateful to him?
What if Jesus had required everyone return the favors?
What if Jesus had demanded what was due him?
What if Jesus had refused to let others take advantage of him?
What if Jesus had forced everyone to do their fair share?
What if Jesus had seen to it that everyone got what they deserved?

What if we all had the attitude of Jesus?

 Posted by at 2:24 pm

Housework

 Consider This  2 Responses »
Jun 222010
 

I am back from a few days in the mountains and thinking about the question, “How green is green enough?”  The earth is definitely getting messed up, but what should I do about it?  It seems we humans make messes wherever we go.  The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the latest big example, but there are plenty others.  BP is not the only one fouling the ocean.  I’ve seen ocean shores awash with plastic bottles in Haiti, drink cans in the Cherokee National Forest, and cigarette butts almost anywhere imaginable.  The air may be smoggy, but the conclusion is clear:  We are making a mess.

Of course we humans are not the only ones making messes.  If you have ever owned anything, you know it is a constant battle to keep it from falling apart.  My house is the biggest example for me.  The sun bakes my house paint.  Woodpeckers dig in my siding.  Tree leaves fall in my pool.  Ground squirrels dig holes in my yard and other, more yucky varmits occasionally leave their droppings in my garage.  Even the ants have devised a plan to dig all the dirt out from under my concrete driveway so it can crack in a million pieces.  I believe their queen has declared war.

Every home purchase comes with a to-do list that never ends.  The notepad is longer than the mortgage term because things get written to the list faster than you can cross them off.  It seems I spend most Saturdays fighting to keep the small stuff off the list while the big things keep adding on.  The only solution is to prioritize.  Learn what must be done, and what should wait.  The list can’t rule your life or you’ll die with a beautiful house and a bunch of regrets.  So, back to the original question.  How green is green enough?

I don’t know how green is green enough.  However, when I think about my earthly home, there are a few things I do believe:

1) The earth is not my mother.  It is my home . . .for now.  Just like my house, the earth was built for me, not the other way around.
2) The Builder did a magnificent job.
3) The Builder fully intended for me to care for my house.  God planted the garden, but Adam had to tend it.
4) People are more important than houses, but people need houses.  Sometimes the house must sacrifice for the people (you should see how my son’s room suffers) but if you sacrifice the whole house, everybody suffers.
5) Someday, we’ll get a whole new house.  Until then, we should enjoy and take care of this one. 

How do we know if we are doing enough to protect our earthly home?  I don’t know.   What I do know is that we need to keep working on that to-do list.  Keep in mind, we don’t really own the house.  We’re just tennants, and the Landlord is watching.

The earth is the LORD’S, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
        -Psalm 24:1  NKJV

 Posted by at 7:33 am

Worn Out Brakes, and Joy

 Consider This, Misc.  2 Responses »
Jun 152010
 

I had to fix the brakes on my wife’s van yesterday.  I didn’t want to do it.  It was a lousy job to come home to after a full Monday at the office, but the brakes were making a noise so I decided I better look at them.   Bad brakes and mountain driving are not a safe combination.

After dinner, there was a struggle to get the jack in place, a fight with lug nuts that involved a hammer and a breaker bar, and calipers that were at times downright uncooperative.  The last rays of daylight were slipping away as Tammy pointed a pathetic excuse for a flashlight at the brake master cylinder.   The lid came off easily enough, but I think it took us 15 minutes to get it back on.  Now there was just the test drive left to do.  Tammy carefully started off, disappeared up the street, then came back smiling.  The brakes were working perfectly.

As the old pads (worn almost to the metal) were tossed in the trash, I began to have that feeling of statisfaction that comes from a job well done.   It is odd how that works, this inverse relationship.  The more you don’t want to do a thing, the more happy you are when it is done.  The more difficult the job, the more relieved you are when it is completed.  The more you dread the start, the greater joy you have at the finish.

Imagine a day over two thousand years ago, and One who had the most difficult task of all.  As the pain and struggles from that long day ended, He declared, “It is finished.”  Then came the joy.  Perfect joy.  Heavenly joy.  Unimaginable joy.    

 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
                       –  Hebrews 12:1-3   NKJV

 Posted by at 1:50 pm  Tagged with:

I Once Was a Paper Clip

 Consider This  5 Responses »
May 042010
 

Sometimes I feel like God’s paper clip.   Not because I hold things together, but for another reason.  Perhaps it’s because of that need we all have to be needed.  A need for significance.  Let me explain.

Every profession has it’s tools.   Carpenters use hammer, saw, level, measuring tape, nails, etc.   Some tools are essential; used every day; especially cared for and protected;  greatly appreciated because they provide such great usefulness.   Other tools, nails for example, are literally a dime a dozen, or less.   Good for one purpose.  Used once.  Easily replaced or substituted.   Needed, but not special. 

Well, I work in the computer industry.  The tools of my trade are things like computers and software, cables, screwdrivers, keyboards, cable testers and . . . paper clips.   When the cable modem or DSL router won’t work or the CD gets stuck in the CD reader, you need a paper clip.  Grab a paper clip from the nearest desk, bend it straight, push the little recessed “reset” button with it, then toss it aside.  There’s plenty more paper clips where that one came from.  A useful tool no doubt, but not very extraordinary.

If this is starting to sound like a poor-little-me pity party perhaps that’s because it probably is.   But in the process of writing about poor little me, perhaps I can remind myself (and maybe even a few others) that being God’s bendable, useable paper clip is not all that bad.  The screwdriver and the computer may get used a lot more, but there are times when only a paper clip will do the job. 

You never know when God will reach down, give me a quick bend, and use me to set something right.  I trust he doesn’t toss me aside when he’s through either.  He has a whole toolbox full of bent paper clips like me.   If you asked him why he keeps them I believe he would say, “Those aren’t paper clips!  Those are special tools.  I keep them all.  You never know when I might need them again.” 

Anyway, I would rather be one of a thousand paper clips in the bottom of God’s tool box than the most prized tool in the devil’s workshop, wouldn’t you?  Stay bendable, be ready for God’s hand, and keep looking for that next reset button. 

Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?   – Romans 9:21

Who Wins?

 Consider This, Misc.  8 Responses »
Apr 252010
 

The baseball game was like none I have seen before. The home team loaned some players to the visiting team just so everyone could play. When a player hit the ball, everyone on both teams cheered. When the player in the field caught it, everyone cheered again. It was almost impossible to tell who was cheering for which team. I’m not even sure anyone knew who was winning and who was losing?

The rules were totally wacky. Three outs did not mean the other team came up to bat. That didn’t happen until everybody got a turn to hit, which of course, everybody did because three strikes did not mean a player was out. Three strikes just meant someone would set the ball up on a tee where the player could keep swinging until he or she – yes the boys and girls played together on the same team – got a hit. Once the player hit the ball, they would run to first base. The first baseman might make the play and everyone would congratulate him, but the runner was never out. He was pretty much guaranteed a chance to run the bases and make it to home plate.

Obviously, the coaches didn’t know what they were doing. They weren’t playing by the rules. They were helping the other team and cheering for everyone in the game. They were letting everyone play. Everyone was learning. Everyone was having fun, but this just wasn’t right. Where were the winners and losers? How would we know who was the best and who was the worst? How would we know who to give the trophy to?

It was one of the best baseball games I have ever been to, and it was church league T-Ball at Duluth First Baptist. I know some of the more competitive folks may be saying, “Why play the game if you aren’t going to play right and keep score?” I say, there is already too much “score keeping” going on in this world, and especially in the church. If there is any place where the mature should be helping the young; if there is any place where everyone gets in the game; if there is any place where we encourage those with three strikes to keep on swinging; it ought to be the church. Remember the goal. It’s not to beat the other team, but to get everybody across home plate.

See 1 Corinthians chapter 3

 Posted by at 8:49 am

Marvelous Things

 Consider This  2 Responses »
Mar 242010
 

Jesus saw many wonderful things.  He saw water turn to wine.   He saw the stormy sea suddenly calm at his command.  He saw blind men receive their site and sick people healed.  He even saw dead people raised to life.  But the thing that surprised him?  The thing that filled him with wonder and made him marvel?  It was a soldier, who simply understood Jesus was the man in charge . . . of everything.

See Mathew 8 or Luke 7

 Posted by at 1:57 am

Along the Way

 Consider This  3 Responses »
Mar 092010
 

The sign simply said “Exit 192   Attraction”.  You’ve seen them before, those blue informational signs along the interstate.  They usually say “Food” or “Gas” and then list the restaurants or gas stations at the exit.  This sign just said “Attraction” and did not list what the attraction was.

As I passed, I wondered what I should be attracted to.  What was there that would draw me in?  Was it something I should investigate?  Or would it be a waste of time? Would I be able to leave it behind?  Would I leave with a good souvenir?  Or a feeling of being ripped off?  Was it worth the stop?

There were many “Attraction” signs along my journey the other day.  Some announced what they were, some did not.  Some looked interesting but only Heaven knows if they would be worth a stop.   One thing every traveler should know:  If you want to reach your destination, you can’t stop for all the attractions.

 Posted by at 7:11 am

Who Needs Angels?

 Consider This, Misc.  4 Responses »
Mar 012010
 

My son brought a dog home.  It wasn’t his dog.  He was doing a friend a favor and watching the dog for the week-end.  The dog’s name was “Angel”, but she wasn’t.  The dog wasn’t an angel at all.  She used our floor for a bathroom several times and she did her share of whining for sure.  The name did not reflect her nature.

Can you imagine what our phone books would look like if people were named based on their nature?  What if some great defining moment labeled you for the rest of your life?  There have been cultures and times when people were named in such a way.  Names had meaning.  My kids know about meaningful names.

In a style slightly similar to something Native American, I have assigned some special “Indian names” to our family members.  Our bathroom is often occupied by “Long Shower.”  “Three Alarms” is difficult to wake.  And the perfect name for our dog who will eat anything and everything, “Walking Stomach.”  No. Our dog would never be named Angel either.  Walking Stomach fits her just fine.  The name Angel should be reserved for something much better.

Usually when I think of Angels, I think of beings who are messengers of God.  Beings who show up and announce that something very important is about to happen.  Certainly I have read many scriptures where they filled that role.  However I recently read a passage that made me realize just how much of a blessing they can be.

When Jesus faced some of his greatest battles, angels were there, ministering to him.  At his birth, they were there.   In the wilderness after being tempted, they were there.  In the garden before the cross, they were there.  They were there, ministering to him.  Helping.  Healing.  Caring. 

Here is the part that really blesses me:  If Jesus needed their care during the rough points in his life, might we not expect the same ourselves?  God provided his heavenly ministers to be there when Jesus needed them most.  And for those of us who call him Lord, I believe he will do no less.

But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
     Hebrews 1:13-14

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