Glasses

I was forty years old and working on my pick-up truck.  For some reason, my brake lights weren’t coming on when they should.  I was laying on the seat with my head hanging under the steering wheel looking at the fuse box.  But I couldn’t seem to focus on the fuses.  My head was all the way back against the bottom of the seat, but I still couldn’t make out if the fuse was a 15- or 20-amp fuse.  And then I panicked.  “What is wrong with my eyes?” I thought.  I went to an ophthalmologist the next day and he said, “Your problem is that you’ve had too many birthdays.  It’s just time for you to get reading glasses.”  But I protested, “I’m not that old!  I’m just forty!”  The doctor just gave me that condescending look.  The idea sank in.  I was that old.  I heard Dr. Gary Chapman talking about the same milestone in his life.  He said to the eye doctor, “So are you telling me that I have to wear these glasses all the time?!”  The doctor answered, “No, not all the time.  Only when you want to see.”  If you want to see you wear the glasses.  Hey, that’s exactly how it is with our spiritual vision.  We read the Bible only if we want to see.  When life’s problems pop up, read the Bible to find out how to solve them.  But if we don’t want to do what the Bible says, we don’t have to.  But neither will life’s problems be solved.  James said it best in James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”  If you want to see, wear the glasses.  If you want to solve life’s problems, read the Book.  But don’t just read it; obey it.  Simple but profound.

Climb the Hill

In 2012, Kathy and I took five Calvary Christian School seniors to Germany and Austria on a mission trip.  We ministered in Garmish, Austria and Regensburg, Germany and spent one night in Salzburg, Austria for sightseeing.  Salzburg is a beautiful city with the Saltz River running right through the center.  We stayed in a hotel on one side of town with the Hohensalzburg Castle on a mountain on the other side.  Late in the afternoon, I asked the kids, “Hey, would you like to see a great sight?”  They agreed, and we set out to explore.  We went through the old part of town and up a tiny street.  The roadway soon became extremely steep.  The sidewalk was actually a series of steps.  A couple of the kids were questioning their decision, but they stuck with me and we huffed up the hill.  After getting near the top of the hill, we walked through a garden path and over to the brow of the hill to a breathtaking overlook.  The river was below, and the castle was above.  The idyllic vista was well worth the effort.  Hey, that’s the way it is with life.  If we follow the Holy Spirit, He will take us places that we would never dream of.  Oh, there will be times of hard work, but we will be rewarded in the end.  Jesus told of a faithful servant in a parable in Matthew 25:21 “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”  If we serve the dear Lord faithfully, someday, it will be worth it.  Never forget.

Camp Pamadeva

When I was twelve years old, I went to Camp Pamadeva in Hanover, Pennsylvania.  Pamadeva is an acronym for Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia.  The camp is is still in existence and is known as Penngrove Retreat.  We had a list of what to bring and what NOT to bring.  I didn’t realize it, but one item was essential: the flashlight.  The camp was a beautiful setting in the daylight hours with huge old trees everywhere, but at night, it was a terror.  I couldn’t go anywhere in the dark without tripping on a tree root!  Hence the importance of the flashlight.  Most campers preferred the nickname, Camp Root!  I enjoyed the preaching, the singing, and the games, but when walking at night, I had to concentrate on the ground with flashlight one step ahead.  Otherwise I would be sure to stumble and fall.  Hey, there are dangers in life as well.  Dangers that we cannot see because they are shrouded in the future.  But, make no mistake, they are there, just lurking ahead in the darkness of tomorrow.  David said in Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  God’s Word will dispel the darkness of the future and give us the direction that we need.  Read it the Bible.  Study it.  It will expose the roots of stumbling that lurk in your future, and the Bible will take you safely to your eternal home on high.  You can count on it!