Pastor Andrews

 

I had a dear pastor years ago who was a Georgia football fan.  He wore black and red and was always “busy at home” on Saturdays when Georgia played football.  But he never said anything about his favorite team from the pulpit.  He told me, “On any given Saturday, any team can beat any other team.  If I brag when my team wins, there will be a day when my team loses, and many will remind me of that fact.  It’s better to just keep quiet and hope for the best.”  Good advice, Pastor Andrews.  Job was in the same situation in the Bible.  He was a good man who had a heart for God, but Job never bragged about his fidelity.  He stood up to his three friends when they accused him of secret sin, but he never blamed God for the evil that befell hom.  Job 1:22, “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”  Hey, do you trust God?  Do you trust Him in the good times AND in the bad times?  Be like Job in Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him …”  Trust in God.  You’ll never be sorry that you did.

Efficient ... Or Not

 

I like to think ahead and be efficient.  My wife thinks it is obsessive/compulsive, but I like to think of it as efficient.  When I carry a load of dirty clothes downstairs, I will bring up a gallon of birdseed for the back yard.  And when I come back inside with the empty container, I pick up the garbage bag and carry both downstairs dropping off the birdseed container in the garage and continuing on to the outside garbage can with the garbage bag.  Then in the basement, I pick up a load of dried clothes and carry the basket upstairs.  A perfect model of efficiency … or so I think.  But this afternoon I had a glitch in my perfect system.  I came inside from changing tires on my truck.  I emptied the dryer before coming upstairs (efficiently).  My first mistake.  And since a light blue dress shirt was in the dryer, I hung it on a wire shirt hanger.  But as I was buttoning the collar button, I smudged dirt on the collar from my dirty thumbnail.  And as I attempted to scratch the dirt off, I got another smudge beside the first smudge.  I picked up the spray degreaser, but as I held the shirt with my left hand, I got another smudge on the yoke of the shirt.  I had to put the shirt down, go upstairs (empty handed), and wash my hands.  Then I came back downstairs (again, inefficiently empty handed) and scrubbed out the three smudges with the degreaser.  Then I rewashed the shirt (inefficiently the only item in the washer) and dried the shirt (inefficiently the only item in the dryer).  God has a way of humbling me.  Solomon said in Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man …” but I’m not going to finish that verse.  My pride will be my downfall.  Oh yes it will!

Heavenly GPS

 

The first time that I went to Romania, we landed in Frankfort, Germany and rented a car.  We traveled through Germany Austria, Hungary, and into Romania.  Maps were scarce, direction signs were tiny and rare, but we made it.  After sixty or more trips since 1990, my directional instincts are good.  But I am getting older, and the landscape is changing.  New roads and new shopping centers are popping up everywhere.  But last trip, the rental car came with a GPS screen.  What an improvement!  It had all the roads named on the screen, even though most of the street signs were still lacking.  Directions were clear even down to the tiniest village.  Hey, God’s Word is just the same.  If you let the dear Lord lead you through life, He will.  And God knows exactly where you are going and how to get you there.  Our heavenly Father is the ultimate GPS … that is if you let Him.  Solomon said in Proverbs 3:5&6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  Don’t second-guess the Lord and live your life your own way.  He knows where you are, where you need to be, and how you are going to get there.  If you let God lead, and if you are willing to follow, you will make it safely through life’s twists and turns to your eternal home.  What a great comfort!