Naked Ladies

 

About ten years ago, I was shocked by what my sweet mother said.  She said offhandedly, “Oh, Miss Sanders lives on Clayton Road, just up the hill past the Naked Ladies.”  I said, “What?!”  My mother chuckled and said, “You’ve never seen Naked Ladies, have you?”  Again, I said, “What in the world are you talking about?!”  With a twinkle in her eye, my mother said, “Let’s go see them.”  And we got into the car, drove out of the driveway, and left onto Clayton Road.  About a mile later my mother said, “Stop here.”  And she showed me a clump of beautiful, leafless flowers beside the road.  Belladonna Lily they were called, or more commonly, “Naked Ladies”.  These lilies grow early in the spring with lush green foliage.  But late into spring, the foliage dies leaving only the underground corm.  Then, late in July, the flowering stem shoots up from the corm with a beautiful flower on a single, naked stem.  No leaves, only a beautiful flower.  What my mother meant and what I thought were two completely different things.  On a different level, we sometimes use innuendos and double meanings to confuse and even shock folk.  But the Lord expects us to be clear and pure with our speech.  Romans 14:16, “Let not then your good be evil spoken of.”  Say what you mean and mean what you say.  Remember, the Lord is watching and listening.  May we make Him proud today in what we do and say, is my prayer.

Captive Audience

 

My Daughter is in Nicaragua this week on a mission trip with their church.  She, her husband, and her daughter are using the CrossFit exercise program as a platform to reach the young people.  They use local translators (and pay them a little) to speak with students and adults.  These translators are not Christians, but as they are translating, they must listen to the Gospel, think it over in their mind, and “preach” it to the Spanish-speaking listeners.  And when the listeners have questions, again, the translator must communicate the question to the Christian while getting some of their own questions answered as well.  They are a “captive audience”, so to speak.  Reminds me of Peter in Luke 5 when Jesus came to his town.  The crowd was thronging Jesus such that He couldn’t be heard by all.  So Jesus improvised and used Peter’s fishing boat as His pulpit.  Jesus told Peter to “thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.” Luke 5:3  As Jesus’ voice carried over the water to the people, Peter listened too.  And like my daughter’s translator, Peter was a captive audience: as Jesus preached, Peter had to listen too.  And a few minutes later, Peter became one of Jesus’ converts!  Hey, today, give a tract to that gas station cashier who has to stay behind the counter trying to stay busy.  Hand a tract to the drive-thru girl, who may read it on her break.  Leave a tract at the lumber yard on a stack of 2X4’s for the night shift stocker to read.  They may learn of the wonderful Savior, Who has the power to save!  Hey, be a blessing to someone today ... and make Jesus proud of you!

Medical Bill or Tract Distribution?

 

I had trouble with my rotator cuff in my shoulder two months ago.  Correction: I AM having trouble with my rotator cuff, but it’s getting better day by day.  So, I had an MRI on my shoulder at Battlefield Imaging.  I paid (begrudgingly) the $150 deductible and got the scan.  But a week later, I got a bill from Battlefield Imaging for $8.96.  My insurance paid some, Battlefield Imaging discounted their cost for the insurance company, and I paid my co-pay.  But with all the figures, there was a little bit left over, which (of course) belonged to me.  Bummer.  So, last week, I wrote out a check for $8.96 and mailed it to Battlefield Imaging.  And as my custom is, I included a tract in the envelope.  As I was stuffing the envelope, I chuckled to myself and thought, “The Lord has someone in the office at Battlefield Imaging that He is working on, and the Lord wants this person to have a tract to read.  So, the Lord just changed my bill around so that I would owe just a little more so that I would send them a tract.”  II Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  So, pray for someone in the office at Battlefield Imaging who received their tract in the mail this week.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would be free to convict their heart.  And while you are praying for them, pray for you and me to be faithful with our tract distribution.  Right?!