Life without an eraser

Have you ever messed up and then wished there were some way to make
the mistake go away. You

just can’t, can you. Some wise person once said, “Life
is like drawing without an eraser,” once the line is down, there is nothing you
can do to make it go away. It’s like drawing with a permanent marker. You can
paint over it to cover it up, but often it bleeds through the paint to be seen
by all.

At times life can be difficult or perhaps challenging to say the
least. Lately I have often repeated the old saying, “We live in interesting
times,” referring to all of the changes our country is going through. How do we
deal with “interesting times,” or challenging times? I like the saying I read
recently that said, “sometimes the most difficult lesson in life to learn is:
Which branch to climb and which one to break off.” That is tough isn’t it?
That’s life without an eraser.

What happens to our lives, how do they change so drastically or go in
a direction we had not planned? Not everyone starts out in the best household,
the best home situation, but some do and something happens and their lives are
turned upside down. Mary LoVerde wrote a book that addresses this titled, “I
used to have a handle on life, but it broke.” I’ve had that handle break a few
times myself, so I can relate to this, and maybe you have too, so how do we
deal with this?

First of all we can’t plan long range and expect it to always go
smoothly or the way we had envisioned.

James reminds us in James 4:13-14, “Come now, you who say, “Today
or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and
trade and make a profit,” yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is
your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Let me say though that this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t plan for the
future. A life without visions for our future, without plans is no life at all.
I honestly believe that God expects us to think or plan, there is just too much
in the scripture about thinking about our future, about how we can serve God,
about our eternal future to miss this point. However anyone who thinks it is
going to be smooth sailing or that our plans will always come into fruition
doesn’t have a true grip on reality.

Well, what should we
do then? Well, James adds another verse to the thought above that is important
to our plans. He adds in James 4:15, “Instead you ought to say,
“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

So, when we are planning, we are praying! We need to factor into our
plans God and his will. We plan and say, “This is what I intend to do if it is
God’s will”. In my life I generally practice the “open door plan”. I try
something, stretch towards some plan and if it works out and God opens that
door, great, if not, if the door stays shut, that’s great too. You see; then
you just change directions and try something else. You see the truth is that we
can live our life with out an eraser, because we don’t have to stay between any
man made lines. The only lines that are important are the ones that God tells
us to stay in side of in his Book. So, how are you doing?

Letting Go

They tell us that the Christmas season is one of the most
stressful times of the year. We like to think of it as one big party, but for
many it is not. It is a time that puts more emphasis upon relationships and we
remember more deeply lost loved ones, children and family separated by miles or
sometimes hurt or anger. For far too may rather than being a time of
celebration it is a time of regret.

I love the story a preacher told about his grandfather. It
seems that there was a terrible thunderstorm that swept through Southern
Kentucky at the farm where his family had lived for six generations. In the
orchard the wind blew over an old pear tree that had been there as long as
anyone could remember. His grandfather was saddened to lose the tree in which
he had climbed and played as a boy. He had eaten it’s fruit all of his life and
enjoyed its beauty.

A neighbor came by and said, “I’m really sorry to see your
pear tree blown down.” “I’m sorry too,” said the old man. “It was a real part
of my past.” “Well what are you going to do now,” the neighbor asked? The old
man paused for a moment and then said, “I’m going to pick the fruit and burn
what is left.”

Don’t you wish you could handing difficult times with that
determination? There are so many things in our past that we cling to which
maybe should be letting go. We need to learn the lesson that old man knew. We
need to enjoy the pleasures of those memories then go on with the present as
well as the future. If you can’t, you will always be handicapped in dealing
with both the present and the future.

Jesus
put it this way in Luke 9:57-62, “As
they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, "I will follow You
wherever You go." But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and
birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay His head."
He said to another person, "Come, follow Me." The man agreed, but he
said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father." But Jesus
told him, "Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to
go and preach about the Kingdom of God." Another said, "Yes, Lord, I
will follow You, but first let me say good-bye to my family." But Jesus
told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not
fit for the Kingdom of God."

Could it be that you need to let go? I’m not saying to
forget, but to enjoy the memories and then move on to enjoy the present and the
future.

Seven Kernels of Corn

We are celebrating Thanksgiving this week, a wonderful time of sharing with family and friends. Hopefully you will have that opportunity to spend time with some of your favorite people, share good food, laugh and enjoy the day. But I also hope that you will take time to count your blessings also.

Most of us are aware of some of the reasoning for the holiday, the celebration of the Pilgrims who traveled from another land far away who had survived. They didn’t have it easy as you know, sickness, starvation, death were a very real part of their existence. It was recorded that they averaged 3 deaths per day and less than 50% of their original group lasted through the winter. At one point they were near starvation and each person had to exist on only seven kernels of corn a day.

I have trouble imagining living that kind of existence, though I have seen some of it personally in other countries. Even there I never had to endure what the people around me had to endure. It was at times overwhelming to say the least. Perhaps you have experienced those conditions, perhaps you have seen it up close and personal. If so, then you have some idea of how those first colonist suffered, yet they stopped to count their blessings.

I have been told that some families make a real effort to remember their blessings as they celebrate Thanksgiving by using Seven Kernels of Corn. They place seven kernels of corn beside each plate and ask each person to tell seven things they are thankful for. Not a bad idea is it?

I’m sure that each of us will have far more than seven kernels of corn to eat this Thanksgiving holiday. But because of that many will not really stop and think about how blessed we are. For many, the day has become about food, football and parades, not about counting your blessings. If that’s true in your family, maybe it’s time you help them refocus of what the day is supposed to be about, “Giving Thanks.” We sing a short hymn that has these words, perhaps we need to sing them more often. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” (Doxology, Thomas Ken).

What Good Is Christianity?

Christianity
is really under attack at this time in our world, it is seems especially in our
country. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. If you set back and be nothing, or
do nothing, have no opinions or thoughts that differ from those which are
deemed “politically correct,” then you will be left alone. If however you have
strong beliefs and either act upon them or express them, you can expect to be
attacked. That’s the nature of Satan and those who have been persuaded to
believe as he teaches.

It
is interesting to see and hear those who are on the side of evil, those who
proclaim that God is dead, or that the Bible is no longer relevant or is
outdated, screaming out their hateful criticism of Christians. However let me
remind you that being a Christian is more than just wearing a name, it is a
life style, it is woven through our belief in what is morally right or wrong.
It effects our relationship to our world and those who share this world with
us.

The
following story makes a good point: A
preacher and the president of a soap manufacturing company went for a walk
together. The president said, "What good is Christianity? Look at all the
trouble and misery of the world! Look at the anger, at the division among people.
It’s still there, even after years, thousands of years, of teaching about
goodness and truth and love and peace. Still there, after all the sermons and
teachings. If Christianity is good and true, why should this be?" The
preacher said nothing.

They
continued walking until he noticed a child playing in the gutter. Then the
preacher said, "Look at that child. You say that soap makes people clean,
but see the dirt on that youngster. Of what good is soap? With all the soap in
the world, over all these years, the child is still filthy. I wonder how
effective soap is, after all!"

The
president of the soap company protested, "But preacher, soap cannot do any
good unless it is used!" "Exactly," replied the preacher.
"Exactly."

You
may not be able to change much of the world, you may not be able to stop all of
the hate that is being directed towards those of us who claim to be Christians,
but just like with dirt, you have to start washing somewhere. Little by little
the whole body becomes clean if we don’t stop washing….

Of
course the washing starts with ourselves. Peter wrote long ago, “to those who were disobedient
long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being
built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and
this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also, not the removal of dirt
from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s
right hand with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” (1
Peter 3:20-21).

What
good is Christianity? It gives us a moral compass that points to God! It makes
us clean and it saves those eternally who are washed clean, (1 Corinthians
6:9-11).

GOD WILL PROVIDE

We live in trying, unsettled,
unsure times but for those of us who are Christians it is good to know that God
is there for us. We trust in God, we rely upon God, we believe that God will
provide what is necessary. After all Paul writes in Romans 8:28, “And we know
that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose.” 

But, is there more to living by
faith than just believing and trusting? I believe there is!

A friend shared this story with
me that speaks to this problem. “A girl brought home her fiance, a theology
student, to meet her parents for the first time. Her father was keen to learn
what prospects the boy had.

"How do you plan to make a living?" asked the father. "I don't
know," said the student, "but God will provide." The father
raised his eyebrows. "Do you own a car?" "No," said the
student, "but God will provide." "I see. And where are you
thinking of living once you're married? "No idea, but I'm sure God will
provide."

Later the mother asked the father
what he thought of their prospective son-in-law. "Not a lot, really,"
sighed the father. "He's got no money and seems to have given precious
little thought to the future. But on the positive side, he must think I'm
God!"

You see it is a act of faith to
trust in God and trust that he will provide, but God also instructs us that our
faith requires some actions to have God work in our lives. James 2:14-16 tells us, “What good is it, my
brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can
such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and
daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,”
but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way,
faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

The
attitude of the young man in the story above is not a new concept. It is my
understanding that when the Gospel was first preached that people really,
really believed that Christ was coming back very soon. They gave up there jobs
and set with others in their places of worship and prayed and sang waiting for
the Lord to come back, believing that God would provide for them. In response
to to that problem, Paul wrote in 1
Thessalonians 3:10-11, “While we were with you, we used to tell you,
“Whoever refuses to work is not allowed to eat.”

I honestly believe that God will
provide, but I am also very committed to the fact that He requires us to do
something to make that happen.

If you want your life to be
blessed, then work at it, if you want your church to be blessed, then work at
it and God will provide the increase.

A Light...

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill
cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and
put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same
way, let your light shine before others, that they may see
your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

I was thinking about
this scripture after our bible class the other night and thought how we often
limit the scope of this instruction. As near as I can remember I believe that I
have always heard this scripture applied to those of the world. That’s good,
that’s how it should be, but I think we forget how much our light effects those around us in God’s
family also.

Shinning on the world
is good, John says the world is filled with darkness and loves the darkness… it
doesn’t really know any better. It doesn’t know or has forgotten the blessings
that come from being in the light. But what about those in God’s family who are struggling,
who are barely holding on, who’s spirits are near the edge of breaking. Do we
ever think about how important it is to shine the light in their direction also?

I was remembering a
scene from the movie, “The Mummy”. In this scene at one point they enter a dark
cavern like room below a pyramid. There is a shaft of light shining into the room from above. They
move a ancient mirror in front of the shaft of light and direct it into the room where it
shines upon other mirrors arranged around the room. Suddenly the whole room is
bathed in light,
you can see everything, treasures beyond imagination, more gold than you could
spend in a lifetime.

I
wonder how much treasure could be revealed if you took the time to shine your light on others the way you are supposed to?
One of my favorite passages is Hebrews
3:12-13 where we are told, “see to it, brothers and
sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from
the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called
“Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

So, how about making a special
effort this week to shine your light, it may make a difference in whether or not they turn
away from God or not.

HALLOWEEN, MASKS AND THE ELECTION

Here we are at the Halloween
season once again and I don’t aim to promote or condemn it as such just to make
some observations. It’s a time for what we call “trick or treat,” which used to
mean you pass out treats to those who visited because you wanted to do
something nice for the children in you neighborhood. The visitors dress up in
strange costumes, wear masks, wigs, face paint, etc. You passed out some treat
or you might have your widows smeared with soap or something else as relatively
mild as a consequence. It really was (and sometime still is) a community
activity meant to be enjoyed.

Times have changed through the
years though, for some, what had been a fun time has become a dark and
dangerous time. Kids can’t go out unattended any longer, it’s not safe, there
are human predators stalking our streets seeking to do harm to folks and
property. That doesn’t speak well for our society does it? Many of the “Trick
or Treaters,” have changed also. For some It’s no longer about just having fun
it’s about “what you can get for yourself,” and what kind of destruction you
can cause and the masks and costumes are just a way to hide your identity.

Of course as I was thinking about
this, the current elections came to mind and how much they mirror the
“Halloween Mentality”. It seems that all of those running for some office wear
mask and costumes, trying to hide who they truly are and it seems also more
interested in how holding some office can benefit them and not others. Now, I
imagine that there are some politicians somewhere (I know one personally), who
truly does seek only to help folks and not benefit themselves, but seems a rare
thing. What comforts me in these troubled times is that if God can use ungodly
men like king Nebuchadnezzar, and
the Pharaoh of Egypt to serve his purposes he can still do it today.

Now here is the difficult thing; we don’t know God’s
purpose or his reason for doing things in a certain way. What we do know is
that God is in control and no matter who wins the earthly election, we have
already won the eternal election if we are Christians. 2 Peter 1:5-8, “For this very reason, make
every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to
knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual
affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they
will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ.” Then
in verse 10 & 11 he adds, “Therefore, my brothers
and sisters, make every effort to confirm
your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never
stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The bottom line is that if we
serve God faithfully, out Election to the eternal kingdom is assured. It’s an
office for life, with no term limits. No masks, no costumes, only the real us
revealed before God. I’m tired already of the earth elections, but excited
about the eternal one, how about you?