Earthen Vessels

 

Fourteen years ago, I received a Doctor of Ministry from Covington Theological Seminary in Rossville, Georgia.  All my family turned out to see me march down the aisle with the velvet sleeves and all the trappings.  But after the party that evening, I still had to take out the trash.  You see, with all the accolades, I was still just an ordinary man who grew up in the country.  All that knowledge was still held in my simple head.  Hey, did you realize that the glorious Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ is contained in ordinary simple humans?  It’s like keeping valuable gold coins in an old peanut butter jar.  The value isn’t in the container, the value is the contents that are in the container.  Paul said it best in II Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”  It isn’t about us, we are ordinary; it’s about Jesus Christ, and He is extraordinary!

Forgetfulness

 

Forgetfulness and poor memory are brothers.  And they have cousins who are old age and absentmindedness.  Saturday, I carried a basket of dirty clothes downstairs to put into the washer.  I needed to take a picture of my college diploma on the downstairs wall for an upcoming post (stay tuned tomorrow), but my hands were full.  So, I put my cell phone in the basket of dirty clothes and carried both downstairs.  Now, before you get ahead of me in my story, no, I didn’t wash my cell phone.  I’m not that forgetful!  Well, actually, I was worried about forgetting, which heightened my attention, which pushed aside my absentmindedness.  Downstairs, I took the picture of the diploma (another commercial for tomorrow’s post), laid my phone aside, got the dry clothes out of the dryer, put the washed clothes into the dryer, and put the dirty clothes into the washer … and remembered my cell phone.  I panicked because I couldn’t find my cell phone in the top of the dirty clothes basket.  I had used it and set it aside, but so much had happened after I had set the phone aside that absentmindedness had set in after all!  Confused?  Welcome to my world.  Often, I forget things because they are not important enough to remember more than a few seconds.  I have too many other really important things to remember.  Hey, do you let everyday little stuff creep in and crowd out important things that you need to remember?  Like praying to God first thing in the morning?  Like reading a short passage in the Bible before the day gets busy?  Lamentations 3:25, “The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”  Hey, seek God this morning.  And that is important to remember.

Kids

 

Kids are honest.  If they are hungry, they whine.  If they are afraid, they cry.  If they think something is unfair, they say so right out loud.  But we adults have learned to control our emotions.  Well, kind of ...  When we are hungry, we have learned to be patient and to wait.  When we are afraid, we have learned to pretend not to be afraid.  We “whistle in the dark” and act as if nothing is wrong.  We learn to put up with unfairness and just keep it all inside.  As adults we have learned to be independent and strong.  But there is only so much “stuff” that we can keep inside.  Only so much that we can push down before it all comes boiling out.  Paul said it best in II Co 12:10, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”  If we will admit the harsh things in life, we can face them.  If we lean upon our heavenly Father, He will comfort us.  He has promised to be with us, right there in the midst of our struggles.  Hey, you can lean on the dear Lord.  And you can be honest and speak out to God.  Don’t be afraid.  He understands you and He’s right there.

Connections

 

In 2005 we took a senior mission trip to Europe.  There were four seniors, with me and my wife as sponsors.  It was just as cheap to fly out of Chattanooga as it was to drive to Atlanta and pay for parking for 2 weeks, so we flew out of Chattanooga thru Atlanta to Amsterdam, our final destination.  But Chattanooga is so close to Atlanta that Atlanta air traffic control wouldn’t let the flight leave Chattanooga until there was a landing slot in Atlanta.  Our flight was delayed twice, but finally took off.  So, when we landed in Atlanta, our connecting flight to Amsterdam had already left.  Bummer.  But as we stood at the ticket counter, our delay turned into excitement for the kids.  Since the delay was caused by Delta’s scheduling, it was their responsibility to get us to Amsterdam one way or another.  The ticket agent was thinking out loud, “Well, I could put you through Zurich, (the kids got excited) but there aren’t enough seats.”  Then the agent said, “I could get you to London, (more excitement) but the connection from London to Amsterdam is no good.”  These teenagers had never been out of the country and were excited at the prospects of seeing an extra European city, even if it was only for a couple of hours.  To the kids’ delight, we ended up going through Paris.  Delta made good on their promise to get us to our final destination safe and sound.  Hey, often we have delays and side trips in life.  Some delays are exciting but other delays are fearful.  Often, life doesn’t turn out exactly how you had planned it.  But God has promised to get you to heaven safe and sound.  That is His responsibility, and one that He takes seriously.  Paul said it best in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  You can trust God to see you safely through to your final destination: your eternal home.

The Tonic Note

 

In music there is a “tonic” note.  A tune usually begins on the tonic note but ALWAYS ends on the tonic note.  For instance, in the key of Ab, the tonic note is Ab. In the key of D#, the tonic note is D#.  The melody may go up and down the scale or skip around, but the melody ALWAYS ends on the tonic note.  ALWAYS.  Hey, the Lord is the tonic note in your life.  Everything keys off the Lord and His plans in your life.  Whether it’s major or minor, up or down, or skipping around, ALWAYS put God first in your life … and as you draw your last breath, He will be your final “tonic” ending.  Proverbs 3:5&6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Trouble

 

Have you ever been in trouble?  I have.  When I was in elementary school, I lived at the principal’s office.  But I got good at talking my way out of trouble.  I heard the story of the roofer who was working on a steep two-story house.  He began to slip and called out to God, “Lord, help me!”  Suddenly, his pants caught on a nail stopping his slide.  Then he called out, “Never mind, Lord.”  All too often, we do not notice God’s providence in our lives.  But the good Lord is there all of the time, whether we acknowledge Him or not.  David said in Psalm 34:6, “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”  We need the Lord every moment of every day.  Hey, are you grateful to God for his help?  Why not thank Him right now?

My Dilemma Last Friday

 

Is it just me, or is everyone driving crazy these days?  It could be that I just drive like an old man.  Hey, I am an old man!  So, here was my dilemma last Friday: I was on Holcomb Road in my neighborhood negotiating the curves, but evidently not fast enough for the fellow behind me.  He was right on my bumper trying to hurry me along.  The speed limit is 25mph and I was going 35 mph, so I just ignored him.  But as I approached the left-hand turn leading into my subdivision, there was an oncoming car fast approaching.  What should I do?  Should I turn in front of the oncoming car or risk being rear-ended by the pushy driver behind me?  What would you do?  Read my next post to find out what I did.