Happy Spiritual Birthday

 

I just got back home last night about 11:30pm from a great trip to the Dominican Republic.  I enjoyed the hospitality of Jason and Sarah Sykes and so many laughs with their two youngest children, Jude and Ellie.  How sweet to see their ministry in the town of San Pedro de Macoris.  But there is just something about getting home.  I woke up this morning with a leg cramp … probably from driving from the airport in Atlanta.  When driving for an extended period of time (3 hours is an extended time for an old man), I try to focus on relaxing my shoulders and taking turns driving with opposite hands (I have two, you know).  But I was tired and focused on getting home and evidently got too intense, so, my driving leg cramped up.  But the cramp woke me up at my usual 4:30am and so, here I am.  Oh well, the life of an old man.  Which brings me to my point: today, 70 years ago, at Maple View Baptist church, April 17, 1956, I trusted Jesus Christ to save my wretched soul.  You may not think that a six-year-old boy could have such a wretched soul, but I did.  My little sins were horrible to me and to a holy God.  But His grace was more than my sin, and His love extended all the way to Joppa Maryland saving me and placing me into His forever family.  II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  Hey, this could be your spiritual birthday too!  Trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, and He will take you into our family too!

Ansel

Ansel had shared classes with me for all of my life.  Some years we were in the same class, and other years he was in another class, but we knew each other well.  We worked for the same masonry company for a few weeks as rising seniors on the new Quality Inn in Edgewood.  With no experience, we were laborers and scaffold riggers.  One day, Ansel cane to work all excited.  He had gotten his new high school class ring.  Back then the 14-carat gold ring was $31.50.  A bargain by today’s standards.  We were on the second-floor scaffolding and Ansel was showing me his ring when he suddenly dropped it.  Ansel made a valiant grab, but missed, and the ring tumbled into the open block wall.  We heard the faint clinking as the ring fell inside the twelve-inch block wall down to the bottom of the ground floor.  Ansel scrambled down the scaffolding, picked up a brick hammer and punched a hole in the concrete block directly below where the ring had fallen.  No ring.  He moved over to the next web and knocked another hole.  Still no ring.  He moved to the other side and hammered a third hole in the block wall.  Still no ring.  He was poised to make a fourth hole when the foreman shouted, “Hey!  What are you doing?!”  Ansel was more panicked over his ring than afraid of the foremen.  But the foreman had no compassion for the missing ring.  “Drop that hammer and get back up there rigging the scaffolding!”  Ansel began a protest, but the foreman’s angry look stopped any discussion.  The ring was now an artifact to be discovered in fifty years.  Maybe.  Ansel was heartbroken, but the boss was guarding his block wall.  Each one had their own perspective.  Solomon said in Proverbs 21:2, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.”  Our own point of view is right … according to how we see things.  But the good Lord knows what is best for all of us.  I’m not sure if Ansel bought another ring or not.  But Quality Inn and Suites is still there.  And so is a gold ring, Edgewood High School, 1967.

Zealous

 

Wednesday, Marleen called me all in a panic.  The electricity was off at her house, and her garage door wouldn’t open.  She was trapped!  First, I calmed her down, and then I tried to explain the door release rope on the garage door opener.  But the more I explained, the more complicated my explanation became.  So I just said, “I’ll be there in a minute.”  And I got into my car and drove over to her house.  I did the 11 minutes in 8 … with my seatbelt firmly buckled.  When I arrived, she was standing at the front door looking distraught.  One smile from me eased her expression.  We walked through the house, out of the back door and into the dark garage.  Thank goodness for cellphone flashlights!  I pulled the release cord, lifted the garage door, and the glorious sunlight came streaming in.  Marleen was released from her garage door prison.  She backed her car out, I shut the garage door, and we were off for another day of repairs at church.  And, as I reflected on the morning, I understood the word “zealous”.  Marleen had an emergency, and I was able to help.  But it was urgent that I get to her as quickly as possible.  I was “zealous” as I drove from my house to her house.  Hey, are we as zealous to serve the dear Lord?  As we think of the resurrection, Easter Sunday morning, and the second coming of Jesus Christ, are we excited to serve the risen Savior?  Paul said in Titus 2:13&14, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”  We don’t serve Jesus in order to be saved; we serve Jesus because we are saved.  We serve from hearts of gratitude.  And we serve zealously!

Benefits

 

When I was in college, I bought a whole life insurance policy from New York Life and Casualty Company (thank you, Brother Briggs King).  I held it for about ten years, finally cashing it in to pay the hospital bill for my second daughter.  A good decision, I must say.  So, my wife and I were looking at the policy to decide what to do and we discovered an unusual clause.  There were all of these accidents that would pay the full policy value or half the policy value.  If I lost one leg or one arm in an accident, I could receive half of the value of the policy.  If I lost both eyes, I could receive the full policy value.  And then the wording went on, one eye, one leg, one arm in various combinations - the complete benefits of the policy was all spelled out in perfectly gory detail.  I was tempted, but only a little.  Hey, David said in Psalm 103:2, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”  Then David went on to list various benefits of God’s goodness.  When I accepted Jesus as my Savior as a six-year-old boy, I didn’t realize all of the benefits that I was getting.  What a bargain I made back in 1956!  Hey, have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?  He has countless benefits - much more than New York Life ever dreamed of.  Accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is well worth the decision.  The best bargain that you’ll ever make!