Army Jacket

In 1961, I was hiking in the woods behind my house (which I often did).  Over against a tree, a tiny splash of color caught my eye.  I investigated and found an army jacket.  Not unusual for our area because we lived eight miles from the Edgewood Arsenal and ten miles from the Aberdeen Proving Ground.  There was no one around and no name in the jacket, so I carried it home and it became mine.  I liked it because I felt like it was my army uniform - an exciting prospect for a twelve-year-old boy.  I wore it for three years until it was just too small for me.  A sad day, because I loved that jacket.  Hey, when I am called a “Christian” I am taking on the identity of Jesus Christ.  Actually, “Christian” means “little Christ”.  Luke writes about the followers of Jesus Christ in Acts 11:26, “… And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”  The followers of Jesus Christ were called by His name.  And still, to this day, the followers of Jesus Christ are called “Christians”.  Hey, I am glad to be called a Christian because I am proud to be identified with Christ.  But the question is, is Jesus Christ proud to be identified with me?  I am proud of Jesus, but is He proud of me?  Just like I wore my army jacket with pride, I want to wear the name “Christian” with pride.  Do you?  I trust so.

Little Jimmy

 

Sometimes you have to go with what you have.  Let me explain.  I used to go over to my cousin’s house in the summer and spend the night with him.  Gene was the only son with two sisters.  I’m not throwing off on sisters, mind you, I’m just saying that Gene liked when I came over.  Their house was on the side of a steep hill with a driveway running down the hill to the house from the hard road.  Which leads me to “go with what you have.”  Georgie Shreafor from next door would come over and we would play ball.  But we always had to bat across the driveway because hitting the ball uphill or downhill was a problem.  Often a rolling ball would go into the culvert that ran under the driveway. Since the driveway ran straight down the hill, the culvert going under it was almost level and the ball would always get stuck in the middle.  And there was only one kid in the neighborhood small enough and spunky enough to crawl into the culvert: Georgie’s little brother, Jimmy.  But Jimmy was wise to us older boys, and he would negotiate BEFORE retrieving the ball out of the culvert.  Jimmy’s only condition was to let him play ball with us.  Jimmy was too little and too slow and couldn’t hit the ball and couldn’t catch the ball, but we needed him to retrieve “culvert balls”.  So, Jimmy got to play.  We realized that we needed him, and we had to let him have his way.  Hey, that’s the way I am with the good Lord in my life.  When trouble comes my way, I realize that I need God.  I am reluctant and proud, but eventually I realize that it is ME who needs HIM.  But don’t judge me; you need God too!  Whether you realize it or not, someday soon, you will need God.  And God has only one condition: turn your life over to Him.  Let Him control your life.  Paul said in Philippians 2:10&11, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, … and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Hey, trust God and let God have your life.  You’ll never be sorry that you did.

Bargain

 

I like bargains, don’t you?  So, yesterday I went into Tractor Supply (my toy store) and found that they were discontinuing my favorite jeans.  Bummer.  But because they were being discontinued, the prices were slashed.  Cha-ching!  I found two pair that were my waist, but two inches too long.  No problem; I can cut them off.  They were marked down from $24.99 to $14.99 WITH an extra 25% off the ticketed price!  Now, that’s what I call a bargain!  But I have an even better bargain than that!  God gives us eternal life for free!  Jesus Christ has already paid for it.  All we have to do is accept His free gift.  But wait, that’s not all.  Then God gives us the Holy Spirit to motivate, empower, and direct us.  Again, for free!  And when we get to heaven, God will give us a reward for doing what He empowered us to do!  We get everything for free PLUS He gives us a reward in heaven!  Now that’s a bargain!  I Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Thankful

In the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6, we like verse 11 because we are asking God the Father to provide us our “daily bread”.  That’s the part where we get stuff from God.  But sometimes we forget that in the two verses BEFORE the part where we ask for our daily bread, we should recognize God as the owner of everything.  You see, in verse 9 we “hallow” God’s name.  “Hallowing” means we recognize God as the King of kings, and in verse 10 and we pray for His “Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.”  So we revere God as the ruler of us BEFORE we ask Him for stuff.  Years ago, my son had a cockatiel.  The bird loved my son and would whistle for him and sit on his finger.  But my son went away to college and I took over the care of the bird.  But the bird didn’t like me.  When I reached my hand into the cage to give him food or to change its water, the bird hissed at me as if to bite my hand.  For nine months this went on.  The bird never warmed up to me and never sang for me.  Hey, I was the one providing food and water for that bird!  I gave it heat in the winter and cool air conditioning in the summer.  But the bird loathed me.  It took my food, and it took my water, but it was NEVER grateful or thankful to me.  It took me for granted.  In the bird’s view, I existed only to provide it food and water.  Hey, isn’t that how we are with God?!  We treat God like Santa Claus to give us stuff and to provide us our needs.  But God is to be honored and respected and to be worshiped (hallowed be thy name).  Our life, our world is not about us; it’s all about God.  We exist to give Him glory and praise.  Don’t be ungrateful, like the cockatiel, be grateful to the dear Lord above.  Thank Him today for what He gives you and for who He is … King of kings and Lord of lords!