Internal Time Clock

 

I have an internal time clock, and last night, I put it to the test.  Let me explain.  Yesterday was a busy day.  Marleen made supper and invited me over (Yummy!).  And afterwards, we went to church to install carpeting in her Sunday school classroom.  We worked a little too long in the evening, so I got home late.  But when I started unloading the contents of my pockets onto the dresser, I discovered that I had left my cellphone at church.  Bummer!  It was late and too far to drive, so I decided just to get my cellphone Friday morning.  But alas, my phone is also my morning alarm clock.  I was so tired that I thought: If I wake up on time, I wake up; if I don’t, I’ll just skip exercise and sleep in.  But This morning (Friday morning), I woke up at 4:18 am instead of my usual 4:15 am.  Not bad timing!  My internal clock was within 3 minutes!  The apostle Paul spoke of good timing in Romans 13:11, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”  Hey, it’s time to get busy for the Lord, because the coming of Jesus Christ is nearer than it was when Paul wrote those words almost 2,000 years ago.  So, good advice Paul.  Get busy for the Lord before it’s too late!

Ants! Yikes!

 

I got back Friday evening to my little home from a week in Parkersburg West Virginia to find ants all over the kitchen counter.  Now, I keep my kitchen clean (most of the time), but those tiny invaders were looking for any tiny morsel of food that they could find.  And I like all of God’s creatures, but only outside of my house.  I got out a vial of ant bait, snipped off the end, and set it out.  I’ve used this bait effectively, and I knew the process.  But the first time that I used it I was worried.  The ants were attracted to the bait like it was candy.  And for a day or two, my ant infestation actually increased!  Word got around to the rest of the ant colony that Whitely had a giant trove of food right on his kitchen counter!  But the word on the street was only half true: the food was laced with poison.  And after feasting, the ants took the bait back to their home and fed everyone else in the whole colony.  But within 2 days, the entire colony was wiped out.  And what a great lesson for us!  Hey, sin has consequences!  Sin is fun … for a season, but afterwards it destroys!  Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”  Don’t take the bait!  Think before you fall for Satan’s lies.  God’s way is always the best way; Satan’s way is the way of death.

Stains

 

Yesterday, I was working at church again, and last night, I noticed that I had white spots in several places on my tee shirt.  I couldn’t tell if they were from wallboard mud or white primer paint, because I used both yesterday.  But I’ll know shortly, because I just put the washed clothes (including my tee shirt) into the dryer.  The mud will have washed out, but the white paint will still be there.  No big deal, because it’s an old tee shirt, but it reminded me of my sins.  All of my sins are washed by the cleansing blood of my Savior and are hidden by His blood.  But some sins, like the primer paint, have more far-reaching consequences.  You can be forgiven for drunkenness, but the damage to your body will still be there.  You can be forgiven for an abortion, but the baby will still be dead … forever.  You can be forgiven for promiscuity, but the STD that you contracted will be there.  Sin has consequences, and there are no “little sins”, but some sins leave terrible scars.  Hey, I’m glad for the cleansing power of Jesus Christ!  I Timothy 5:24, “Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.”  Today, think and choose carefully.  Mud or paint, make good choices.  You’ll be glad that you did, and so will the dear Lord.