Giving to the Lord

 

Sometimes when things get tight around the house, the first thing to suffer is our giving to the church.  We just can’t afford to give.  But the truth is, we can’t afford NOT to give to God.  The story is told of the church member who felt convicted to give one tenth of his income to the church.  And God blessed him for his commitment.  He prospered at work and was given several raises.  But then the pastor noticed that his giving had dwindled to nothing.  He confronted his member, and the member responded, “When I was making $100 a week, I gave God $10.  Right off the top.  But now that I am making $1,000 a week, my tithe is up to $100!  That’s a lot of money!  I can’t afford to give that much money!”  The pastor thought a moment and said, “I know it’s hard to give $100 a week, so I am going to pray that God would knock you back down to making only $100 a week so that you can afford to tithe.”  God blesses us, and we should return a portion of that blessing to Him.  Don’t be stingy in your giving to God; after all, He gave His very Best for you.

March Madness

 

My eleven-year-old grandson came in two weeks ago and asked, “Granddaddy, can you download me a March Madness basketball bracket?”  Of course, I knew what he was talking about, and I found one right away.  And I downloaded two: one for Greyson and one for me.  But after only the first round, my brackets were busted!  It seems that upsets were the rule rather than the exception.  The hard thing about March Madness is that the games are single elimination: each game is move up or go home.  Hey, I’m glad that the Lord gave me another chance!  I’m glad that the Lord didn’t give up on me after only one mistake!  The Lord gave Adam a second chance.  God gave Abraham a second chance, and a third.  And David made many mistakes.  But David repented of his sins, and God took him back.  David said in Psalm 51:10&12, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”  If you have messed up, remember, the Lord is the God of the second chance.  Don’t give up; the Lord has not given up on you.  Repent and return to the Lord.  He is waiting for the repentant sinner with open arms.  Yes, He is!

A Good Example

 

While going to college, I worked to pay my way through.  Let me give you a bit of advice on student loans: don’t do it.  Pay as you go.  It took me 11 years to graduate from college, but when I graduated, I was debt free.  But … I digress.  I worked night shift at Mueller company making cast iron valves and fire hydrants.  One job that I had was slagging the furnaces.  I had to scrape off the crud from the top of the liquid iron in the furnace.  Iron melts at 2800° Fahrenheit!  It was a hot and dirty job.  Often, my boss would come up to my station, tap me on the shoulder, and tell me to take a break.  Then he would do my job for me while I sat down and cooled off.  Soon, I would recover and begin to feel guilty watching my boss doing my job.  So, I would get up, tap him on the shoulder, and get back to my work with renewed vigor.  He was a wise man.  Just like a wise pastor who doesn’t drive his people like horses, or prod his people like cattle, but lead his people like sheep.  A wise pastor is an example to his people, not a lord over his people.  The Apostle Peter said it best in I Peter 5:2&3, “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”

The Truth

 

Yesterday, I did something stupid.  But before you make any sarcastic comments, let me explain.  I was getting my two-wheeled hand truck out of the back of the pickup, but I had stuff in my left hand.  I had lifted the wheel end of the cart over the tailgate, but the cart was overbalanced and began to slip out of my hand.  I decided to just let it fall to the ground, but when the weighted end of the cart went down, the handle end was catapulted up and into my face.  The handle end hit my face and my glasses were smashed into my cheek before I could do anything.  When the incident was over, the first thing that I did was to look around to see if anyone had seen my mishap.  The second thing was to feel my face to see if it was still intact.  Other than a scratch on my glasses, I was fine.  But soon, I felt the trickle of blood in my moustache.  I had a small cut where the pipe had smashed the skin into my upper jaw.  I can only hope for a little scar, giving me the streetfighter look.  It reminded me of a scar that I got when I was fifteen years old.  My younger brother and I were fighting over a snow shovel in the wintertime.  He pulled one way, and I pulled the other.  He let go and I hit myself with the shovel in the forehead just above my left eye.  My six stitches looked good at school the next day.  I told my friends that I had been in a fight.  It was the truth, but just not all of the truth.  Jesus said in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  It’s one thing to know the truth, but it’s another thing to tell the truth.  And telling the truth is more important than avoiding embarrassment … whether you are fifteen or seventy-five!

Reality

 

When I sleep at night, I like to wake up, look at the clock, and realize, “I have four more hours to sleep!”  I can smugly turn over and go back to sleep knowing that I have plenty of time before I must get up.  So, last night, I woke up, looked at the clock, and it was three o’clock.  I got up, went to the bathroom, and then snuggled back under the covers and went back to sleep.  Then I woke up, looked at the clock, and it was three fifteen and I really had to go to the bathroom!  My trip to the bathroom at three o’clock had only been a dream!  Am I confusing you?  Well, I was very confused myself at three fifteen!  I was so confused that I had to get fully awake to try to figure out what was going on.  And when I did, I couldn’t get back to sleep for an hour!  Bummer!  Here’s a question: what if this life is only a dream?  What if it isn’t really real at all?  What if the life that we are living is only a dream in the minds of the gods and we aren’t even real?  What if you and I are really just a dream to someone else?  Hey, we can become too bogged down with too much thinking (philosophy).  Many eastern religions become mired in “what is reality?”  Paul advised his young follower, Titus, in Titus 3:9, “But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.”  My dreams only serve to keep me awake at night … if that even makes sense.  But when the sun comes up, my best move is to pick up my Bible and read what the dear Lord has to say about reality.  After all, God is trustworthy and accurate.  Yes, He is!

Dead to Me

 

My son had a friend who did him wrong.  And it wasn’t just a simple transgression; it was a betrayal of his trust.  From then on, my son said that this friend was “dead to me”.  I thought that was a little harsh, but my son was so crushed by the failure that he wanted nothing to do with this man after that.  Hey, I’m so glad that Jesus Christ did not feel that way towards me, a sinner above all others.  Jesus loved me while I was sinning and “dead in trespasses and sins”.  And since I turned my life over to the dear Lord, He has given me a new heart, a new purpose, and a new life in Him!  It is as if I am now “dead to sins, but alive unto God”!  Hey, that’s exactly what baptism is a picture of.  Paul said in Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”  We are buried with Jesus (in a figure) in baptism and raised to walk the Christian life.  Praise the Lord!

Better or Better Off?

 

I have talked to people who say that they are just as good as some Christians that they know.  And that’s probably true.  But as Ray Comfort has said, Christians are not better than non-Christians, they are just better off.  Let me explain.  Two people are sitting on a plane.  One has a parachute and one does not.  They are both good people and one is not any better than the other.  But if the plane develops engine trouble and they both have to jump out, the person with the parachute is not better than the other person, he is just better off.  Hey, we are all sinners.  I am no better than you are, but I have trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I am better off than you are because of Jesus.  I have trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior and He has guaranteed me a home in heaven when I die.  John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”