Placard

 

This is a placard I saw on 41 Hwy in Catoosa County that just struck me funny.  I am sorry if this is you, or a friend of yours, or a relative of yours, but this is just not right on so many levels!  Really?!  “The Lint Guy”?!  I can think of so many better nicknames, like Shorty, or String Bean, or Bubba, or Four Eyes, but The Lint Guy?!  Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”  Hey, you are building your reputation/name each day of your life.  How would you like to be remembered when you pass away?   Would you like words on your tombstone like Loving Father, or Faithful Husband, or Devoted Son?  But “The Lint Man”?  Really?!

Maryland Bible Institute

In 1965 I was a junior in high school and the churches in our area got together and formed Maryland Bible Institute.  They held classes on Tuesday evenings at Bible Baptist Church in Elkton, Maryland.  My dad and mom enrolled in classes, and I enrolled too.  One of my classes was public speaking, which I was terrible at.  But my dad was in the same class, so I had to keep up.  One of our assignments was to memorize a portion of Scripture and recite it with expression before the class.  My selection was Psalm 37:1-7.  Forward to 2020.  This Sunday morning, Pastor Jamie mentioned Psalm 37:4 in his morning message, and in my mind, I quoted the verse as he read it.  Hey, being able to quote a verse gives so much more meaning to the verse than just reading it.  Psalm 37:3&4, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”  These verses are imperatives: they are a command or a request.  The subject is ”you” understood.  God is commanding us to trust in Him and delight in Him.  Hey, this is God speaking, not your mother.  So you’d better do it!  Thank you, Brother Ron Holtz for making me memorize these verses 55 years ago and for teaching me the meaning of them.  Hey, memorize Scripture.  You’ll never be sorry that you did.

Help!

 

It was 1960 and I was in the sixth grade at Old Post Road elementary school.  As I walked into the schoolroom one morning, I sensed a tenseness in the air.  I was puzzled … and a little worried.  Were we having a test that I had forgotten?  That was entirely possible, because I seldom studied.  After mentally checking off each subject, I realized that it wasn’t a test.  Today was the day to recite from memory the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.  And Miss Geagen had been clear, “If you don’t have the Gettysburg Address memorized, you will stand up in front of the class and squirm around for the length of time that it should have taken you to recite it!”  I was in big trouble!  But fortunately for me, my name started with a “W” and Miss Gaegen always went in alphabetical order.  I opened my notebook and began studying the speech that I should have studied the night before.  Then, Paula A’s name was called.  As she stumbled through, I stumbled through right along with her.  And the next person, and then next.  When Miss Geagen finally called my name, I was ready.  I walked to the front of the room and began, “Four score seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation …”  Hey, have you ever been in a high-pressure situation?  Maybe it was one of your own making, and maybe it wasn’t.  In either case, ask the dear Lord for help.  And He will always meet your need.  Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”  Don’t be afraid.  Ask God.  He’ll be right there with you.

Danger Ahead

 

A month ago, I was coming home from church Sunday afternoon and saw a car dodge something in the interstate ahead.  I slowed and saw a huge 6X6 chunk of wood that had fallen off a truck laying in the roadway.  I thought of someone hitting that thing and having a terrible accident, so I pulled over, backed up, and got out of the car.  I carefully watched the traffic and dragged the wood out of the roadway and onto the shoulder.  As I got back into my car, several cars flew by me on the now clear highway.  None of them knew of the danger that had been cleared, and none of them waved thanking me.  They were oblivious to what had just happened.  Hey, when you place a gospel tract at a strategic location at the grocery store, you are potentially helping someone avoid a tragic end to their life.  They may pass by oblivious of their spiritual danger ahead, or they may pick up that tract and learn of the love of God.  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.”