A Proven Fact

 A Proven Fact

If you are like me you forget where you put stuff. Christmas is one of those times when i can’t remember what I did with things I need to decorate our Christmas tree. This year it was the ornament hooks. I looked in places where they should have been, but they weren’t there. I gave up looking. I went several places to buy some, but all the of those places were out. Therefore I ordered some from Amazon. They were delivered, and I immediately started working to finish decorating our four foot Christmas  tree. You won’t believe what happened the next day. I found the box full of  those ornamental hooks I had been trying to find.

The lesson: 

If you really want to find what you lost go out and buy a replacement, and in a few days when you are not looking for it you will find it.

The Word

 The Word

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. John 1:1-2

Talking about the Word—who is the Word, anyway? We are told that the Word was with God, but we are also told that the Word was God. How can that be? What else are we told about the Word? It was through the Word that everything was made, everything that was made was made by the Word. The Word was life, and the life was the light of man. We are still talking about the Word who was with God, yet he is God, who made everything. The Word is life and the word is the light who shines in darkness, in the darkness of evil, but the darkness has not and will not ever overcome the light, the Word. Who is the Word? The Word is Jesus!

Can you imagine anyone being able to understand who the little baby born in Bethlehem was? Did Mary really know what the birth of her baby would mean to the world of lost sinners, or at least really understand? The shepherds knew something great had happened, but were they able to grasp just how great the birth of that little boy was? The angel had come to Joseph and told him what had happened to Mary, how she had become pregnant and that he should take her as his wife and name the baby Jesus. Did he know that Jesus was the Word, the Messiah, the life and the light of the world who would save us from our sin?  Did anyone understand the impact that that little baby would have on the world? The mystery was beginning to be revealed that night when that little baby was born., 

This is the Gospel, the message of Christmas.

Whit Hair, White Soul

Years ago I went to the Party Store to get some white dye hair spray for my grandson. He needed it to color his hair for the villainous character he was portraying on Halloween night.  I took the can of dye to the check out, and as seriously as I could ask, questioned the young lady behind the counter, "Do you think this spray will make my hair white?" I wish I had a picture of the expression on her face. She didn't say yes or no; she simply began smiling, and rang up my purchase. I don't think she knew how to respond, but a blonde standing behind me shouted, "Your hair is already white!" Really!

Yes, I guess my hair is white. Yet, when I look at myself in the mirror I see a mixture of white and dark brown hair. I am convinced that the aging process has not progressed as it may appear to others. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Of course, I'm just kidding. Everything about me indicates that I am aging. My hair is white. I do have wrinkles. I am getting slower. I know that in a few more years, if I live long enough, I will really look old because I will be old. There is no use trying to fool anybody. The lady behind me at the checkout was able to see right through my pretension. 

Jesus was able to see right through those who pretended to be something they were not. In Matthew 23 he exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. In his lengthy discourse he said to them, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." 

We can't fool Jesus. He sees all of the dirt and filth inside of us. We can cover up our sins with a can of spray. Jesus wants to make us clean. Only he can make do that. King David cried out to God, "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." We can try to whitewash ourselves to fool others, but we can't fool Jesus. Jesus will take away our dark sin, and make us whiter than snow, even whiter than my hair.

The Art of Striking Out

During his major league career Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs, but he struck out 1,330 times. Ruth is known as one of the greatest hitters of all time despite having struck out 1,330 times. The “Babe” knew something about baseball that made him one of the best. I think that is what led him to say, “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” This is something that coaches and dad’s and mom’s need to teach their sons and daughters when they begin learning how to play baseball or softball. Striking out is a disappointing reality of the game. Everyone will swing and miss that ball three times and then take a seat on the bench. While sitting on that bench the player should grasp something just as important as any of the fielding or batting fundamentals he will ever learn. There is an art to striking out and if learned it will help a player be much better at his game. 

How to strike out is a lesson that all of us need to learn even if we don’t play baseball. You and I are going to strike out in life. We are going to make mistakes. We made mistakes when we were in school. We didn’t make a hundred on every test. We make mistakes raising our children, and we make mistakes in our marriages, at our work, in our relationships, and in our spiritual lives. We have found ourselves sitting on the bench wondering what happened. 

When we are on the bench after striking out we need to remember what Babe Ruth said, “Never let striking out get in the way.” Never sit on that bench feeling sorry for yourself. Don’t get angry and blame someone else for your mistake. Don't sit there whining or think about giving up. Remember you are still in the game. God didn’t make you so that you could  ride the bench all of your life. God is forgiving. He has a great plan for you.  If you are a Christian he wants you to know that you are more than a conqueror. In other words God wants you to know that you are a winner even though you have struck out many, many times. 

I found the plaque you see in the picture below many years ago. Whenever we have moved to a new house I hang these frames featuring some of my favorite baseball cards on my den wall and place the Babe’s wise words above them. These are old baseball cards of players from the 1950’s and 1960’s. Many of these players were very good hitters—Yogi Berra, Ted Williams, Orlando Cepeda, and others that aren’t in the pictur , like Willie Mays and Stan Musial. I have about 75 player cards under this plaque. Every single one of them struck out many times. What do you think they did when they went back to the bench and sat down?

The Beat of the Heart

In his mother’s womb his heart began to beat. At six weeks into his life evidence of that tiny heart was detected, and two weeks later his mother listened to hear that rapid thump, thump, thump as if he were shouting, “Hello mommy, I’m here!” A vast system of blood vessels, arteries, veins, and capillaries had begun to develop in his little body until like a raging river life giving blood flowed it’s journey’s course of an amazing 60,000 miles. 

O Lord how wonderful is this your creation! A masterpiece, one of a kind, your precious work is the life you have made! A life in which is found two hearts, one physical, the other spiritual. One heart will cease to beat and will die, the other can live for eternity. In the redeemed spiritual heart, where Christ lives, the heartbeat of Jesus will be heard as his life giving blood flows freely. The power of his blood makes pure this repentant heart. Through his Savior God created a clean heart and renewed his spirit when it went astray. 

Silently that new life began without notice to fulfill the marvelous plan of the Father. Only God knew the eternal purpose for which that tiny heart, nestled securely in his mother’s womb, was made. A life, this sacred blessing from the Creator, ordained to serve and live to bring glory to his maker must be given every chance to carry out the purpose for which he was created. May we praise God for we were fearfully and wonderfully made. We know full well that your works are wonderful. Psalm 139

Heed the Warning

There were two waiting rooms in my eye doctor’s office.  In both of those rooms there was a TV with a sign that read "Do Not Touch!". I understand that they didn’t want people changing the channels, but why didn’t  they have signs that read "Please Don't Change the Channel"? That Do Not Touch sign just made me want to touch those TVs. I heard other patients say the same thing. It is our nature to want to touch what we are told not to touch.

That has always been man's problem. God put a Do Not Touch, Do Not Taste sign, in a sense, on a tree in the Garden of Eden. God blessed Adam with many trees. "And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Genesis 2:9 The trees in the garden were beautiful, and pleasing to the eye. The fruit was good to eat and very delicious. It wasn't like Adam and Eve were desperate to eat from that one tree. The problem happened when Satan came along and began telling them how much better their lives would be if they did eat the fruit that God had forbidden them to eat. 

We know what happened. Adam and Eve ignored God’s warning and ate the fruit. Because they disobeyed God, man's relationship with Him was greatly damaged. Adam, Eve and every person after them were sentenced to a life of pain, suffering, sorrow and death. Even the perfect world that God had created was cursed and thorns and weeds covered the land. Instead of a life of comfort, man experiences great discomfort. His labor became hard and he worked by the sweat of his brow. The worst punishment—man was condemned to die, all because he did not obey the sign. 

The Bible is composed of 66 books that tell how man got himself in such a perilous state, and then how God’s grace would provide him with a way to be saved. Adam and Eve really blew it, but because of God's loving grace we all have hope. There is another sign that God has shown us. This sign says, “Believe In My son.”  If we heed the message on that Sign we will enjoy life as God intended us to live. That Sign is Jesus. Jesus came to take away our sin and to give us the kind of life God meant for us in the first place. We can choose eternal life or we can ignore God’s promise and suffer the consequence of sin which brings eternal death. Jesus came because we could not keep our hands off of the Do Not Touch sign. It is by the “touch” of our loving Savior that we are free from the penalty of touching that Do Not Touch sign..

By the way, I always touched both of those TVs.

Judging of the Brethren

 Judging of the Brethren

That large bowl of mashed potatoes had been placed right between us by our mother. As always my brother and I each wanted to be first to get a helping of those creamy spuds. Our daddy told us to bow our heads as he offered thanks. But that day neither Mike nor I were thinking about the lunch time blessing. I didn’t trust my fat little brother when he was within arms reach of the mashed potatoes. Daddy was still praying, but I could wait no longer. I opened my eyes, glanced over at Mike and that little goofball already had his hand on the mashed potato spoon. Realizing how irreverent that was I yelled,”Get your hands off that spoon you little cheat!” I’m not sure exactly what I said, but it was something to try to get Mike in trouble.

I thought Mike’s transgression needed immediate attention. A hand on the mashed potato spoon during prayer was not only a sin, but it was far from being appropriate when people are getting ready to eat. For some reason my dad did not think that my outburst was a proper way of handling the situation especially while he was praying. Not much was said about Mike’s chubby fingers grasping the serving spoon. I had not convinced daddy that I had saved my little brother from God’s wrath. Actually I had been  more interested in my daddy’s wrath for my brother.

Both of us were punished. I have forgotten what daddy did to us, but my punishment was much worse than Mike’s. I do remember though, that neither of us got any mashed potatoes that day. 

Sometimes that incident comes to mind when I read what Jesus taught in Matthew 7:1-5. This Scripture has to do with judging other people. The words of Jesus: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged…Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. I will let the word of God speak for itself.

I do think if church members would do as Jesus says about judging others there would be enough lumber lying around outside  to build a large addition onto  the church building.