Digital Thermometer

I have had a hard time finding batteries for a little flashlight that I have.  It has three teeny tiny button batteries and I can barely read the numbers.  I ordered what I thought was the right cross-referenced battery on Amazon.  But when they came in, they were too small.  $21.83 and too small.  So I sent them back.  I looked online again and found another replacement candidate.  Ten batteries for $4.95.  A much better deal, and they ended up fitting.  Problem solved.  Yesterday, my dear wife woke up with a low-grade fever.  The thermometer said 100.4°.  The nurse at dialysis sent her home with medication and orders to check her temperature at 1pm and 5pm.  I wasn’t confident in our old digital thermometer, so I stopped by CVS to pick up another one.  Wrong.  They were sold out.  And so were the next three pharmacies that I checked!  No thermometers anywhere!  But we needed a thermometer today!  At home, I opened our thermometer to see what size battery it took so that I could order one on Amazon.  It was a GP-192, the same as LR-41 the exact one that I already had for my little flashlight!  There are hundreds of sizes of hearing aid/watch batteries.  But I just happened to have a perfect match just when I needed it.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so.  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.”  By the way, my wife is doing much better.

Small-Town Mail Delivery

When I was six years old, we moved from West Virginia to Maryland.  Although Joppa has grown, it was a small town 1955.  One day, my dad got a letter from his hometown of Shady Springs, West Virginia.  It was addressed to “Bill Whitely, Joppa, MD”.  That was all.  No street address, no zip code, just the name, town, and state.  But Mr. Howell, the mailman knew everyone in Joppa, and he knew where Bill Whitely lived, and he delivered the letter.  Amazing!  Hey, God knows exactly where you are.  He never will forget you, nor any of His other billion precious children.  He keeps up with each one.  Jesus said in John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”  Jesus knows where you are.  Don’t forget, He will never EVER forget you because He loves you.  Hey, do you follow Him?  Think about it.

Smoke Detector

I hate the springtime change.  You know - that spring forward thing.  But I love love love the fall time change.  You know - that extra hour of sleep.  But with both time changes, I am also reminded to change the batteries in our smoke detectors.  I have two smoke detectors: one upstairs in the hallway and one downstairs near the clothes dryer.  Last year I went to change the batteries, but I had only one nine volt battery.  So I changed the battery upstairs and planned to get a battery for the one downstairs.  Well, about a month later, about midnight, I was awakened by this strange chirping noise.  The downstairs smoke alarm was programmed to chirp just before it totally died.  So, I got out of bed, dragged over a chair, and removed the battery from the downstairs smoke detector to stop the chirping.  Again, I planned to get to get a battery the next day.  Well, last week at the springtime change, I had NO batteries, so I bought a four pack.  I replaced the battery upstairs and put a battery in the one downstairs, which had gone four months without a battery.  So, what good is a smoke detector without a battery?  Absolutely no good.  Hey, God has given each of us a conscience.  But our conscience fades unless the Holy Spirit empowers it.  Jesus said in John 16:7&8, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”  We need the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, just like my smoke detector needs the power of that nine volt battery.  We are useless without the Holy Spirit, and my smoke detector is useless without its power.  Hey, listen to that still, small voice of the blessed Holy Spirit guiding you each day.  Don’t ignore Him.  He will direct you … if you let Him.