Ceiling Stain

In 1973 we had a leak in our little trailer.  Water came through the ceiling in the bathroom, and before I could patch the roof, we had a stain about the size of my hand on the ceiling.  So, I got a quart of white paint and painted the ceiling.  But in a week, the stain was back.  I painted it again, only to have it to reappear again.  The paint was water-based latex, so each time the stain bled through.  I had to get an oil-based primer to seal the stain and then paint the ceiling a fourth time.  Hey, the sins in our lives are like that stain.  We try and try to reform, but we just can’t.  We have a sin nature.  Only Jesus Christ can change our hearts and make us a new creature.  Isaiah said in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”  Only the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary’s cross can permanently cover the stain of our sins.  Only Jesus can redeem sinners and make us fit for heaven.  Thank you, Jesus, for your salvation and for our guaranteed home in heaven!

 

The Bible

 

I memorize Scripture.  I have a stack of memory cards downstairs that is 4” tall.  It used to be easy to review my verses, but lately, I have had to work on them more and more just to keep up.  Old age has its disadvantages.  But yesterday I was thinking about those verses.  The Bible wasn’t written for information; the Bible was written to change my life.  Those cards are not to be studied; those cards are to make a difference in the way that I live my life every day.  David said in Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  Hey, is the Bible just a book to you, or is the Bible the life-changing words of the living God?  Read it.  Meditate (reflect) on it.  Love it.  Make the Bible a part of your life - every day.  You’ll be glad that you did.

Invasion

It was late in the evening in 1985 when I heard a blood-curdling scream from the den.  I came running in to see who had been killed.  My dear wife was standing on the couch, obviously terrified.  In a distraught voice she hissed, “I just saw a mouse over there!”  And she pointed.  I moved a laundry basket, a sewing basket, and saw the tiniest little mouse make for the closet.  Kathy screamed, I grabbed a history book (a big one), and threw it pinning the mouse.  Then I stepped on the book just for good measure before looking underneath.  I was victorious!  That little varmint was dead, dead.  But my wife was only slightly relieved.  She gasped, “Get that thing out of my house!  Git!  Git!  Git!”  And I did.  Hey, our homes are invaded by much worse than a mouse every night on the TV.  Our computers are invaded by so much filth that it would make a mouse sick.  Our minds are invaded by vulgar lyrics from the music blaring from the tricked-out car beside us at the traffic light.  Hey, we need the good Lord to invade our minds, invade our homes, and invade our country!  David said in Psalm 127:1&2, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it … It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows ...”  A mouse is not nearly as dangerous as wickedness in our homes (although my wife may disagree with me).  Hey, we need to let God be in control of our homes.  Let’s let Jesus invade our lives, not selfishness, greed, and anger.  Let the Creator of the universe have His rightful place in our country!  Let God invade us!