Sluggard

 

My third year in college, I worked at Standard Coosa Thacher thread mill on the night shift.  I went to work at 10 pm and got off at 6 am, just in time to shower and get to breakfast at 7 am.  Then at 8 am, I had Old Testament Survey with Dr. George Earnshaw.  The class was big and met in the Sharp auditorium at the edge of campus.  The first day of school, Dr. Earnshaw announced a job in class.  My hand shot up, and he picked me for what he called Operation Priority: it was my job to raise my hand and signal him that class was over in five minutes.  I got extra credit for it!  But I was always sleepy after working all night.  So, I would sit in the very back of the big room right behind someone with my head in my hands and elbows on my knees and sleep sitting up.  My friends would wake me up five minutes before class was over so I could raise my hand and get the extra credit that I needed.  I was such a sluggard, but the dear Lord gave me good friends (that I didn’t deserve).  Proverbs 6:9&10, “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:”  I’ll not finish verse 11.  It’s too convicting.  ;<)

The Price Is Right

 

Have you ever noticed the stage girls on “The Price is Right”?  They always move to be in front of the camera.  They ooze elegance with those fake smiles on their faces.  Then they cleverly slip aside with a wave of their hand as the curtain opens and the new car is shown.  They slide right behind the new car, stroking the fine finish with one hand while flourishing with the other hand in the air.  We notice them because they are gorgeous, but their purpose is to showcase the car that is up for bid.  Oh, they get our attention, but their job is to shift our attention from them to that new car on the stage.  Hey, that’s our job as Christians.  We are to look good to the world, but our real job is to draw attention to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Paul said in I Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”  Everything that we do, every move that we make, everything that we say, everything that we accomplish, ALL should point others to Christ.  Hey, be a good Christian example and draw attention to yourself.  But then point people to Jesus Christ, for He is above all things, and He deserves all the honor and glory!  After all, it’s not about us; it’s all about Jesus Christ, the Lord!

Kindness

 

Our Sunday school lesson has been on the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22&23.  Last Sunday, Brother Roth used the story of Ruth gleaning to illustrate kindness, which is the fruit of gentleness.  Boaz was kind to Ruth.  He allowed Ruth to glean among his farm workers even instructing them to drop a few “handfuls on purpose.”  The workers were not only to allow Ruth to work right there among them, but they also intentionally dropped some stalks of grain on the ground while Ruth wasn’t looking.  Boaz not only wanted Ruth to have food, but Boaz wanted her to keep her dignity.  What a beautiful picture for us.  Paul reminded the Ephesians in Acts 20:35, “… to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  When we give to others, we are giving as unto the Lord, and the Lord will bless the giver.  Boaz blessed Ruth, but Boaz himself was blessed in return by his own giving.  Boaz found a wife in Ruth, they had a child, Obed, who had a son named Jesse, who had a son named David, whose descendant was Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world!