Silence

Abraham Lincoln said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.”  Solomon said in Proverbs 17:28, “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise …”  One of the hardest things to do is NOT to say something when an opportunity arises.  What makes us think that we must say something every time?  Hey, just try to be silent.  True to the proverb, folk will think that you are the wisest person in the room … and you didn’t even say anything!

Open or Not?

 

About two miles from our house is a little produce stand at the intersection of two country roads.  It’s in a poor location and hasn’t been very profitable, so it has changed hands several times.  But the present owner has hit upon selling firewood.  It would seem that the firewood is a better money-maker than vegetables and fruit.  Two fellows are usually down there splitting and stacking wood.  Kathy and I call them “the woodchucks”.  They have a little “open” LED sign that is the only light on at night.  The only problem is that they are not open at night.  They just leave the “open” sign on day and night.  Their sign reminds me of some Christians.  They go to church on Sunday, but they don’t act like Christians during the week.  And, just like the open sign that isn’t really open, these Christians aren’t really acting like Christians.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:13, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”  Unsalty salt is worthless.  You might as well use it for gravel for the roads.  And, hey, woodchucks: when you aren’t open, turn off your open light!

Coming or Going?

 

My cardiac rehab is misnamed.  It should be called cardiac maintenance because that’s what it is.  The doors open at 6 am and I (along with a dozen others) am waiting to begin.  And since I get an early start, I get an early finish.  Yeah!  And when I am finished, as I am going out the door at Memorial hospital (along with several night shift workers), there are day shift workers coming in.  But there is a stark contrast in the demeanor of those coming in to work on Monday morning and those getting off of work Monday morning.  Those coming in are glum and sleepy headed while those going out (with me) are cheerful and free as a bird.  The contrast reminds me of Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof ...”  And there are several other corollaries of that verse: It is easier to start a project than to finish a project.  It is easier to get into trouble than to get out of trouble.  It is easier to bid on a project than to pay for the cost overruns of the project.  And I’m sure that you can think of others.  Hey, think carefully before you start something so that it is easier to finish it.  Plan well to finish with few regrets.  (Another corollary)

Mistaken

 

I went to McAlister’s deli Wednesday at lunchtime and got a baked potato.  The girl brought the potato to me, and I began to unwrap the butter and sour cream.  Moments later, she walked by, and she had put on a plaid flannel shirt.  She must have gotten cold, I thought.  But then, a few seconds later she brought a plate to a nearby table and had the shirt off again.  I was puzzled and watched her go back behind the counter … and walk past her identical twin!  One girl wore a McAlister’s tee shirt and the other girl wore the plaid flannel shirt!  I asked one of them and she confirmed that they were twins.  Hey, have you ever been mistaken in life?  You might have been scammed by a smooth-talking used car salesman.  Or the item that you ordered on Amazon was nothing like the picture when it arrived.  Those tires didn’t last nearly as long as they were supposed to have lasted.  Hey, Jesus is the real deal!  He will never trick you.  He will deliver what He promised, and more!  The writer of the book of Hebrews in Hebrews 13:5 quoted Jesus as saying, “… I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  And never is a long, long time!  Hey, Jesus will never disappoint you.  And you can count on that!

An Unseen World

 

We have a “handshake” chorus at our church.  We sing a verse, and then while the instruments continue to play, we all greet one another with a handshake or a hug (or a fist-bump).  But after it’s over and the pastor continues with the service, I begin to smell a strong fragrance.  It is the smell of hand sanitizer that the ladies have begun to use, and that stuff is strong!  And the reason is clear: germs have been passed around from hand to hand that need killing.  And by the smell of things, there is a powerful lot of killing going on!  But wait, we can’t even see those germs.  How do we know that they really exist?  Well, we have been told by folk smarter than us that the invisible world of germs does exist.  And those ladies believe what they have been told!  Hey, do we believe that the spirit world exists?  God has told us in His Word that the spirit world is real.  And I believe that it is real!  The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:12&13. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  We must arm ourselves with the armor of God and defend ourselves against this invisible spirit world.  Germs are real, and demons and angels are just as real.  And we must fight against the demonic world.  So, let’s wake up and start putting on our spiritual hand sanitizer!

Telling Jesus what to Do

 

Have you ever said something, and as soon as your words were spoken out loud, they didn’t sound like the words that you were just thinking in your head?  And then you wish that you could just reel those words back into your mouth, but you just couldn’t?  I think that’s how Martha felt when she blew up at Mary and Jesus.  Jesus had come to visit the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and Martha was stuck in the kitchen.  And she was mad!  Martha thought, “Mary knows that we have a whole house full of hungry men and there she is just sitting listening to Jesus.”  Of course, Martha would have loved to have stopped and listened to Jesus too, but the meal wouldn’t fix itself.  So Martha lost her temper and spoke her mind.  But when her words came out of her mouth, somehow, they didn’t quite sound like she had thought that they would.  In Luke 10:40, Martha told Jesus, of all people, what to say.  Martha told Jesus to “…bid her (Mary) therefore that she help me.”  Can you imagine someone telling Jesus what to do?!  Martha told Jesus to tell Mary to get into the kitchen and to get busy… right now!  Hey, I’m like that sometimes.  Sometimes I tell God what to do, but in a kind way.  I pray, “Dear God, please help Miss So-and-so to get well,” when God is trying to teach Miss So-and-so to depend upon Him for her health.  Or I pray, “Dear Lord, help Brother Who-do-you-call-him to get the job that he interviewed for,” when the dear Lord is trying to teach Brother Who-do-you-call-him to depend upon God and not on his paycheck.  But of course, you aren’t like that, are you?  You never tell God what to do.  Or do you?  We all need to say to Jesus, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”  Let’s not box God in.  Let’s not tell the Creator of the Universe what to do.  After all, He’s doing a pretty good job running things without our help.

Disappointed

 

I like to chew sugar-free Mentos wintergreen gum to keep my breath fresh during the day (between cups of coffee).  And I have found that the empty plastic containers work great for small numbers of odd screws.  A few years ago, my two grandsons got into my truck and grabbed the Mentos container.  But they were very disappointed.  I had screws in the Mentos container.  I dared them to “go ahead and chew them” but I got no takers.  Hey, have you ever been disappointed?  I can say that Jesus Christ has never disappointed me, … and He never will.  The writer of the book of Hebrews put it best in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”  You can trust Jesus “yesterday, today, and forever”!  Yes, you can.