Perfect Timing

 

The dear Lord knows exactly what He is doing.  He is not in a hurry, but His divine timing is perfect.  Let me explain:  Brother Gerald Ziemer has been a missionary in Fundulea, Romania for the past 26 years.  Members of his church, Ady and Nicoleta Cojoc, are going to South Sudan on a mission trip. to teach the Biblical days of creation to children in the schools.  Here’s where I come in:  In 2013 I taught at the Timişoara Baptist Bible Institute on creationism, and I spoke Wednesday evening on creationism at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Timişoara using an excellent translator.  The service was recorded and is available on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FltaKc4Trtg&t=3075s).  I have the 105 Powerpoint slides that I put in Dropbox and sent the two links to Brother Gerald.  So, although I can’t go to South Sudan, my Romanian friends can go and have all the tools to minister to children in South Sudan!  All in God’s good time and according to His perfect plan.  Paul said in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  God works all things out for His glory and our good.  Again, the dear Lord knows exactly what He is doing. 

Bendy Straws

My dear wife is gaining strength day by day, but for almost a year, she has had limited mobility.  One of her creature comforts has been using those “bendy” straws.  You know, straws that have the flexible end so that you can easily drink out of a glass while reclining without spilling the drink all over you as you take the first sip.  So, last week we ran out of her bendy straws.  Bummer.  So, I saved the last one until I could get to the grocery store to get some more.  I dumped her melted ice into the kitchen sink and rinsed the bendy straw with warm water.  Remember, it’s a “bendy” straw.  As I stood at the sink rinsing the bendy straw, the bent part of the straw happened to be facing me, so the warm water squirted all over my shorts.  It looked like I had wet myself!  So, I shut off the water, checked to see that my wife was not watching me, and sneaked back into the bedroom where I changed my shorts.  I came back into the kitchen and finished cleaning the straw … taking particular care that the bendy straw was pointing into the sink.  Hey, have you ever made an embarrassing mistake?  The first thing that I do is to make sure that no one saw me make the mistake.  The next thing that I do is to cover up my mistake.  But all too often, I make an awkward excuse for my mistake.  The better way is to laugh at my mistake with others and go on with life.  Solomon said in Proverbs 29:23, “A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.”  Laughter and a humble spirit are important.  And, facing the bendy straw in the right direction helps.

The Smell of a Fire

I was over at a friend’s house yesterday and noticed a smell from the house next door.  They had a fire that destroyed most of the structure back in October.  The fire was almost four months ago, but I could still smell the charred wood!  Years ago, another friend, Joel K. worked with a contractor to mitigate the results of house fires.  After cleaning out the materials in the home that had to be replaced, Joel sprayed the remaining structure with shellac to encapsulate the usable, charred wood.  The smell could not be removed, but it could be sealed in.  After the structure was sprayed, Joel went back with new insulation, sheet rock, wood trim, and finally paint.  The house looked and smelled brand new.  The charred smell was no longer detectable … but it was still there.  It was just sealed and covered.  So it is when we sin.  We are forgiven by the dear Lord, and He puts our sin away, never to be remembered by Him.  But the stench and the memory of that sin is still there in our memory.  Only the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ can mitigate the stench and the scars of our sins.  John said in I John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”  We are as pure as a newborn baby and forgiven by the grace of Jesus Christ!  Hey, have you experienced that grace of God in your life?  If not, you can experience it right now.  Let Jesus remove the stench of sin in your life!  Let Him make you brand new!