The Ultimate Selfishness

 

A few weeks after Christmas, we had a missionary at church on Sunday evening.  Yes, we still have a Sunday evening service, if you’d like to visit us.  We have a few folk who attend our evening service because their church has only a Sunday morning service.  But, back to my story.  I came into church and the missionary was anxious to set up his video presentation.  But he had to use my computer, my projector, and our church sound system.  I had to start my laptop, connect and start the projector, and then find an audio patch cord connect to connect to the church microphone jack.  I went to the sound booth in the back of the auditorium to turn on the amp.  I should not have left the missionary unattended, because he got right to work on my computer.  MY computer, mind you!  He inserted his flash drive and began changing settings and screens.  Fortunately, his wife needed help with their table in the back, so he left.  I downloaded his video, and I began to reset everything on MY computer.  I was behind time and frustrated.  Why did he take over MY computer?  Why did he think that he could change the settings on MY computer?  A few days later, I was reading Psalm 100, and the blessed Holy Spirit convicted me of my selfishness.  Psalm 100:3, “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”  Hey, it wasn’t my computer, and it wasn’t my business!  And, to make an application: how often do I think that I own myself?!  I make plans for my day, but I belong to God!  I am his.  And to make an application for you: today, ask the dear Lord, “What do you want me to do with myself today?  How should I use your hands and your feet and how can I be used by You today?”  I Corinthians 6:19&20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

Guide

 

Years ago, we liked to go tubing on the Hiawasee river.  But after several trips, we decided to upgrade to the Ocoee river.  But the Ocoee has class III and IV rapids, and you need a guide to run it.  The guide knows where the rapids are and how to navigate them.  They know which side of the river is best to set up and how to maneuver the rapids in each situation.  The same is true in the spiritual life.  Most folk go through life doing the best that they can.  They are on the lazy, relaxing Hiawasee river.  But when you encounter real problems in life – and you will – you need a guide.  Hey, are you prepared to be such a guide.  If a coworker in the next cubicle is surprised by a pregnant daughter, are you prepared to meet their needs?  If a friend goes through a divorce, can you help them?  If an acquaintance has a death in the family or a sudden hospitalization, can you guide them through their spiritual rapids?  I Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”  If someone were to ask you, “How can I have peace with God?  How can I get to heaven?”  Could you help them?  Could you guide someone to faith in God?  If not, now would be a good time to learn to.  FB Message me and we can chat.

Chapstick

 

My oldest daughter love-love-loves Chapstick.  It matters not the flavor nor the brand, she just has to have Chapstick.  About two years ago, she grabbed a tube of Chapstick out of her purse and rubbed it all over her lips covering every square inch at least twice.  But then my wife noticed that she had mistakenly used a similar tube of tinted lip gloss.  Without knowing it, her face looked like a clown!  Hey, often we say or do something offensive to someone else without knowing it.  But unless a good friend calls us on it, we don’t notice our harshness.  We need to be called up short by someone who loves us enough to hold us accountable for what we say.  Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”  First, we should be thankful for a friend who cares about us too much to let us embarrass ourselves.  And second, we should be humble enough to take correction.  Hey, dear friends are rare.  We should love them all the more when they care enough to speak correction into our lives.