Ants

I have a hummingbird feeder on my back porch.  But it has been invaded by ants.  Those little buggers are persistent.  They found the hummingbird nectar all the way up the pipe and into the feeder.  Now, I have nothing against ants, but they have fouled up the feeder with dead ant bodies on the inside.  So I devised a way to wrap duct tape around the pole to deter the ants.  Several ants got stuck on the tape, but most were still getting into the feeder and clogging it up.  So I got some axle grease and slathered it all over the pole.  Again, a few ant bodies in the grease, but a hundred ant bodies in the feeder.  Then I looked at the situation a little closer.  I discovered that the ants were climbing up INSIDE the pole and coming out the end of the pipe past all of my fortifications and getting into the hummingbird feeder.  Ingenious.  So I caulked the pipe full of gunk and have been ant free ever since.  but now, they have taken over my garbage can.  Oh well.  Solomon too noticed that ants were resourceful.  Solomon reminded the sluggard that the ant doesn’t even have a boss to tell her what to do.  She just takes initiative and does what needs to be done. “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-8  Hey, are you a ‘self-starter,’ or does someone have to tell you what to do?  Why not consider the ant.  If you don’t have any, come over to my back porch and my garbage can.  I have plenty of ants to study.

Missing Box

I helped a friend over in Lookout Valley last week with some trim work.  My old table saw finally gave up and quit working.  I had to get a new 10” Kobalt saw to finish the job.  When I finished, I packed up all of my tools into my ’96 GMC pick-up and was ready to go when I saw the empty Saw box still sitting there.  I was ready to go home, so I quickly threw it into the back of the truck on top of the tools.  As I started out the driveway, I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw the box securely wedged behind the new saw.  But when I got to Chick fil-A four miles later, there was no box in the back of the truck.  Oops.  Somewhere, that big box had blown out onto the road.  So, I would like to apologize to the Cadillac that was behind me last Saturday just past noon.  I didn’t mean to dent your hood.  Really.  I didn’t mean to.  By the way, that’s what we are told to do in Matthew 18:15, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.”  If someone offends you, you may not know that you have offended them.  So the burden is upon them to come to you and to tell you that you have dropped the box on their car.  Or, have offended them.  Wait a minute.  I have confused the story. Or have I?  If someone has hurt you, you should go to them.  They may not know their offense.  And, we should love one another and forgive one another.  So, am I off the hook with my box?  I hope so.

Don't Get Caught!

I like to watch the little birds in the back yard, so I have bird seed and blocks of suet for the woodpeckers. I keep them in the basement, and I noticed yesterday that a mouse had chewed open one of them. So, I got a piece of cheese and set two traps in strategic places near the ‘scene of the crime’. So, this morning, when I got up I went down to see if my traps had been successful. One was where I had set it, but the other was missing. Possibly a murder mystery. I searched and found it sprung, underneath the pool table. The same pool table that is used to store everything. But that’s another story. So, I had a bigger problem. Literally a bigger problem. So I went to Tractor Supply and got a rat trap. I was a little skeptical that I could catch the culprit since he had been freshly irritated by the little mousetrap. So, I used some greasy hard salami as bait. Tonight, I went down to lock up the basement door and found the rat in my trap. I couldn’t believe it! That rat knew about traps - he got out of a little on last night, and here he was, caught in a bigger, more powerful trap. I suppose the allure of the luxurious salami was just too hard for him to resist. Hey, isn’t that the way we humans are with our sin? We know the Bible verse that says, “… be sure your sin will find you out.” Numbers 32:23 But we still just fearlessly dabble around in our pet sin. We think we will get away with our cover-up. But, if we continue in our sin, we will get caught. And that’s a fact. God’s Word is true: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” I John 2:15-17

Sudden Events

I remember with fascination in August 1961 when the Berlin Wall went up.  I was in the seventh grade.  Then in October 1962, I watched as soldiers near me in Edgewood, MD went on full alert patrolling in full battle gear as the Cuban missile crisis unfolded.  When President Reagan and Gorbachev met in 1985, there was world-wide hope for a new era of peace.  As discussions with the Russians continued, Soviet Bloc nations began to defect.  In November 1989 the Berlin wall came down, and discussions began on German reunification.  I remember how lightening fast changes took place.  While governments held discussions, the common people simply took things into their own hands.  The entire world order changed in just a few short months.  Hey, someday soon, Jesus Christ will return as King of kings and catch all of His children up to be with Him in the clouds.  Things will be totally changed.  This second coming of Jesus will be a surprise to most people.  If you are one of His saved ones, you - WE - will be snatched up by Jesus.  If you are not one of His saved ones, you will go through one of the most horrible of times ever to come in the history of mankind.  Hey, this will happen!  The question is, “Are you ready?”  Read I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and then Romans 10:9-13.  Think about it … but don’t take too long.  Think and then make a decision - before it’s too late.