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.

Outstanding Ba;ance

 

When I first began mission work, I needed a credit card to book flights, hotels, and rental cars.  I know, I know, credit cards are dangerous for your budget.  But I made a commitment to pay off the balance each month.  I have had an American Express card since 1992 and have never paid a penny in interest.  But I have taken several trips overseas using its frequent flyer miles.  Back in those early days, I paid my bill by mail.  In 1995, I sent the bill off as usual.  The next month, I noticed that I was credited with the payment from American Express, but the check hadn’t gone through my bank.  So, I subtracted that amount from my bank balance knowing that it would eventually go through.  But on the next bank statement, the American Express check still had not been deposited by American Express.  So, I called American Express.  The lady answering the phone thanked me for my honesty but assured me that the check would go through.  Each month I looked at my bank statement, and the American Express amount was still outstanding.  I was tempted to spend the money, but I am glad that I didn’t, because a year later, the check suddenly was presented at my bank.  For a year, each month I looked for that check to go through.  Hey, Jesus said that He would come back to claim His bride, the church.  It has been 2,000 years since that promise was made, but He still hasn’t come.  But that doesn’t mean that Jesus won’t come.  And just like I had to keep my balance ready for the American Express check, we must be ready for the Lord’s return.  Paul said in I Thessalonians 4:16&17, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Checking All of the Boxes

 When I was 10 years old, I had a great Sunday school teacher, Mr. Sexton. He encouraged us by giving us points for various Christian disciplines. Attendance was worth 10 points. If I brought my Bible with me, it was another 10 points. If I read my Bible each day, I got 15 points. And he had a chart to go with it. Each day had a short, selected passage with a little box to check. The church attendance and Bible brought was easy because my parents saw to that. But I was forgetful and would remember my Bible reading on Saturday night (just before the Sunday accounting). But on Saturday night, I would read Monday’s verses and check off the box. Then I would read Tuesday’s verse and check off the Tuesday box (all on Saturday evening). I read all of the verses and checked all of the boxes, although I missed the whole point of daily Bible reading. Jesus noted the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and said in Matthew 15:8, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” Hey, do you check all of the boxes? Do you do all the right things but with the wrong motive? You know, it isn’t what you do, it’s if you have a relationship with the Living God. Take a few moments to tell Jesus that you love Him. And then look for Him to be near you all day.

Pleasant Surprise!

 

I was installing some lights at church Saturday and had debris to throw into the dumpster.  I gave the rusty sliding door on the dumpster a healthy yank, and it slid open as easy as you please!  I was pleasantly surprised and slid it shut just for the fun of it.  Again, it glided flawlessly.  Curiosity drove me to investigate the door track, where I discovered a layer of sleet/ice which made the dumpster door slide so easily.  The ice that made the walk to the dumpster treacherous made the door opening and closing a pleasure!  Often in life, difficult times have hidden blessings.  Sometimes we just have to look for them.  I Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”