Better or Worse?

 

Wednesday evening, I ate at Chick fil-A and then went straight to prayer meeting at church.  It was windy when I went outside, and I was glad that I had brought my comb with me.  Well, almost.  When I got to church and combed my dry hair with my nylon comb, my hair (charged with static electricity) looked worse after I combed it than it looked when the wind had blown it around.  My attempt at combing my hair reminded me of the dangers of self-reformation.  Jesus said of a man trying to clean up his life on his own in Luke 11:24, 26. “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man … Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”  We can’t help ourselves.  Our efforts can only make things worse.  Our best plan of action is to ask forgiveness of the good Lord and let Him do the cleaning up.  After all, God can clean us up better than we can with our feeble attempts.  We can clean up the outside, but only God can clean up the inside.

Customer Service

 

I ordered 16 - 2X2 panel LED lights for the suspended ceiling at church.  As we were pulling them out, one box had a crease mark on the front.  A warning light went off in my brain.  When Marleen opened it, all 4 of panels were damaged.  I was able to use one, which sustained minor damage to one corner.  But the other 3 were too smashed to be used.  I contacted LightUp and Kim was gooder than gold.  Because it was a discontinued item, she issued a refund immediately along with apologies.  Although it wasn’t really her fault, as the company representative, she took full responsibility.  A very refreshing position in today’s business world.  Hey people make mistakes, but what you do when you make a mistake, well, that reveals character.  Own it and make it right.  LightUp has my business.  5 stars, Miss Kim!  Proverbs 22:29, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”

Warm

 

Last week was a cold snap.  My old Buick had a problem with the heater controls, so I drove my truck.  The truck has a good heater, but it takes a few minutes for it to warm up.  I wore gloves, but my cold hands just couldn’t warm up in those gloves.  So, when the heater started blowing warm air, I drove with one hand and put the free hand over the heater grill and warmed up my glove, which warmed up my hand.  Then I switched hands and warmed up the other glove/hand over the other grill ( driving with the other hand).  If I didn’t wear gloves and warmed my hands only, they still had to hold that cold steering wheel.  My warmed gloves provided a layer of protection from the cold.  Hey, the Holy Spirit provides protection for your soul!  He insulates you from the wicked world … if you will but let Him.  Through the power of God, Hezekiah stood up against the wicked king of Assyria.  II Chronicles 32:7&8, “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”  Trust the Lord to fight your battles today.  Don’t go it alone.  It’s like a warm hand on a cold steering wheel: it just won’t help very long.  Trust the glove of God to keep you warm.  Believe me, the Holy Spirit knows what He is doing.