Tape Measure Troubles

 

In 1961 my dad bought some property in the country in Maryland and moved our trailer onto it.  After he had saved a while, he built the front half of our house with the trailer attached to the back.  Then two years later, he moved the trailer and finished the back half of our house.  While building the back half, he bought a new tape measure.  After laying out the framing, he began to notice problems.  The new walls were off, and the floor joists were too short.  After examination, he discovered that his new tape measure was off by only 1/32” per inch.  But at the end of the 45’ long house, it was almost 1 ½” too long!  That tiny difference added up to a big problem.  His new tape didn’t correspond to his 6’ folding rule.  The error was in the new longer tape.  Hey, do you seem to have problems in your life?  Do some things just don’t add up?  Go back to the Bible and see how your life compares to God’s standard.  Solomon spoke of “unjust weights” in the marketplace that fooled some people.  Proverbs 16:11 says, “A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.”  God compares all of our lives to His perfect standard.  God doesn’t grade on a curve; God is fair with everyone.  The problem is that we are ALL sinners and in need of a Savior.  And after salvation by God’s grace, we ALL still have a sinful nature to overcome.  We overcome our sinful flesh by surrendering each day to the dear Lord.  Hey, don’t struggle against God; surrender to Him.  Make your life measure up to God’s expectations and you will live a peaceful, spirit-controlled life.

Junkyard Yardsale

 

This is where Marleen and I spent our honeymoon.  NOT!  We found this junk yardsale between Ellijay and Blue Ridge, GA.  Hey, when you think of heaven compared to the beautiful places here on earth, it is like a honeymoon in a junkyard.  I Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”  If you think of the most gorgeous places on earth, your heavenly home will be much better than those!  Hey, take a moment to thank the Lord for His love (and preparations) for you!

Gleaning

 

When I was a boy, my Granny Whitely had a former hired hand who moved from West Virginia to Maryland.  Hyder Chapman got a job working for a wealthy man in Perryman, Maryland.  Hyder mowed, raked leaves, cut trees, and kept up the maintenance on Mr. Damison’s fifty-acre estate.  Once a month or so, Granny would visit Hyder to clean his house, and she would take us boys with her.  We liked to explore the woods behind Hyder’s little cottage.  On the way to his house, we drove by Mitchell’s corn fields.  Mitchell’s corn was a huge operation with hundreds of acres of corn and a cannery on site.  They were famous for their white-kernelled “shoe-peg” sweet corn.  And there was an interesting unwritten rule at Mitchell’s fields: after the combines had harvested the corn, the local folk could pick up any ears of corn that were left on the ground.  For free!  Hey, that’s how Ruth and Naomi were able to survive three thousand years ago!  In Ruth 2:2, “And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.”  God took care of the poor widows in Israel, and God took care of my Granny Whitely in 1961!  And, God will take care of you too!  Yes, He will!