Single Work Boot

 

I drove to the bookstore at the mall to get a birthday present for my granddaughter last Tuesday evening.  I got the books that I wanted, and since I had parked by JCPenney, I ran in to see if they had any ties marked down.  They didn’t, but by the exit they had several athletic shoes on clearance.  I picked up my size and walked a few feet to the shoe department to find a stool to try them on.  I slid off my left work boot and put on the left sneaker, but it was too small.  I hobbled back to the display with one shoe off and one shoe on and got a size larger.  When I went back to the shoe department, there were three Penney executives with folded arms staring at my work boot.  As I hobbled up to the men with the other work boot on, I sheepishly said, “Sorry.  I’m trying on these athletic shoes.”  One of them said, “Oh, no, no!  We’re glad you are!”  The other one went on, “Customers often steal shoes and leave their old ones here, so we’re glad to see you shopping instead of stealing!”  I was relieved and they were relieved.  Everyone was happy.  I even found clearance shoes that fit!  Hey, when you praise the dear Lord above, it’s a win/win situation too!  Hebrews 13:15, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”  God is honored by our praise, and we are satisfied because we were made to give praise to Him.  Hey, praise the dear Lord today!

Disappointed

 

Monday morning, I went to cardiac rehab and went through my exercises.  When I picked up the 10-pound dumbbells and did my presses, I fairly flew through them.  I thought, “I am really developing great muscles.”  But then I looked down at the dumbbell rack and saw that someone had misplaced the 8-pound dumbbells for where the 10-pound dumbbells should have been.  I wasn’t developing great muscles at all!  How disappointing!  Hey, have you ever been disappointed?  I have!  But I have never been disappointed in Jesus Christ.  Have you?  Of course you haven’t.  You may have been disappointed by someone at church or a preacher on TV, but you have never been disappointed by Jesus Christ.  That’s because He is the real deal and Jesus Christ will never disappoint anyone.  The writer of the book of Hebrews said in Hebrews 13:5, “… for he (Jesus) hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  He never has and He never will.

Followers of Christ

 

If you are a Christian, people are going to say all kinds of slanderous things about you.  Just make sure that they aren’t true.  I Peter 3:14,16,17 “But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled … that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”  If you are a Christian, you will suffer verbal abuse.  After all, look at the way Jesus was treated.  So, wear your slander well!

Prophecy

 

The Jews were proud of their beautiful Temple.  And rightly so, with its gold-clad roof and white marble walls, it fairly shone in the bright sunshine.  But Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:2 “… See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”  The Jewish leaders scoffed at the words of Jesus, but in 70 A.D. those words came to pass in an interesting way.  A Jewish revolt that began in 66 A.D. was being squelched by Vespasian when he was selected as the emperor to replace Nero.  He returned to Rome leaving his army in the hands of his son, Titus, who laid siege to Jerusalem.  Wanting to save the beautiful Temple, Titus gave strict orders not to touch the Temple Mount.  But after Jerusalem fell to the Romans, the ransacking began.  Someone set fire to the Temple and it burned to the ground.  As it burned, the gold melted and ran down into the cracks of the huge marble blocks.  The Roman legionnaires pried the scorched stones apart to retrieve the gold.  And, what do you know, when the Romans were finished, not a single stone was left on top of another.  Jesus’ words had come true.  His words were true when He spoke them in the first century, and they are just as true today.  Hey, have you trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior?  Don’t you want to know the peace that comes from knowing Jesus as the Lord of your life?  Do it now while you have the opportunity.

God's Children

 

Years ago, I had a man say to me, “God would not send one of His children to hell.”  And he is right, but not everyone is one of God’s children.  Jesus said to the religious Pharisees in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil …”  Paul said in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”  Most people can figure out what “all” means.  “All” means everyone … from Hitler to Mother Teresa, everyone sins.  Some sin more and some sin less, but “all” sin.  And that’s not God’s fault.  The DOT worker who puts up a sign reading, “Bridge Out” is not responsible for those who drive around the sign and plummet over the drop-off.  And God is not responsible for those who refuse His repeated warnings and refuse His offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Peter said in 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.”  God does not want you to perish; he wants you to be saved.  God offers you the gift of salvation.  The question is, will you accept it?

Thank You for Your Service

 

I never served in the military, but I came awfully close to serving.  Because I had to work while in college, I fell below full-time status and was classified 1-A in 1969.  The first lottery draft was held in December 1969.  My lottery number was 215 out of 365 and that year in my county, and they drafted young men up to 205.  After 1970, I was safe.  I often wonder what my life would have been had I served in the military.  I had several college friends who came home from Vietnam with their school tuition paid for by the GI bill.  But I also had one who came back with shrapnel in his leg and back, and one came back in a metal box.  I remember stories told to me by my Uncle Bill Wagner, Uncle Bill McNish, and Uncle Gray Whitely, all in WWII.  My Uncle Dean Whitely served in the Air National Guard, and still lives in Joppa, Md.  Yesterday was Uncle Dean’s 86^th birthday.  Happy birthday, Uncle Dean, and thank you for your service!  As they say, “We live in the land of the free because of the brave.”  Hey, thank a veteran today.  He will be proud and you will be thankful.  A win/win for both of you.

Helen Cadbury

 

Helen was born in 1877 and grew up in Birmingham, England.  And she was born into God’s family when she was twelve years old.  She started a club at school to encourage others to be more fervent Christians.  Her Bible was too bulky to carry onto the playground, so she devised a little pocket sown into her dress for a small New Testament.  This began the Pocket Testament League.  Helen made commitment cards for each of her 60 club members.  They each promised to read a passage in the Bible each day, pray each day, and tell someone else about salvation in Jesus Christ each day.  What a wonderful idea for a twelve-year-old girl!  Her father, Charles Cadbury, was famous for Cadbury Chocolates.  Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:11, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”  Have you been edified by Helen Cadbury’s story today?  Then why not do something yourself to point others to Christ today?!