Two Lives

             I wonder. as I sit here to write this, how it will all fit together. The separate strands are all out there, but how they will come together is anyone’s guess.

            Here we are in Chattanooga, it is Easter Sunday afternoon, and we have been involved in two very different services. Do they share a common theme? Perhaps, we’ll see.

            One of the main reasons for coming here this weekend was to attend a memorial service for Mayre’s former airplane mechanic and friend. He passed away at 93 a couple of weeks back. The last time we visited with him, probably 6 months back, he was still piddling with his airplane and giving flying advice to others who flew out of this small airport on the eastern fringe of Chattanooga. John was called the founding father of the Collegedale Airport, in fact, they named the field for him in a special dedication a few years ago.

            John was a good man. He was well liked by all and spent so much of his time helping others, both through flying and his airport involvement, and through his church. He was special to Mayre because of his encouragement of her flying over all these years. Not only did he work on her plane, and maintain it to FAA standards, he also flew with her and helped her with understanding what was going on with the mechanical and technical side of flying.

            The service was a good one, with much laughter and remembrances. He was a Christian man, one who loved his God and his family, and served both for a great many years. It was evident that the people there knew him for what he was and Who he served.

            Last night we had supper with a couple who have become close friends over the past few years. Larry had been our pastor when we changed churches back in the 80s. He and Linda had accepted us into their friendship, and we have been close ever since. After we moved to St. Simons in the mid 90s, Larry accepted a pastorate in Savannah, and we got together on occasion whenever either of us came into the territory of the other. After Larry retired from that church, he and Linda moved back to Chattanooga and settled down.

            Then a church called him to an interim position as pastor until such time as they could call a new full time one. Larry has been in this church for over a year now. It was in this new capacity that they invited us to attend the Easter service this morning..

            As I watched Larry in the pulpit today, I realized that, although this was an interim position on the books of the church, it was a spot that he was meant to be in. He was at home with the people and at home with his God. I told him after the service that I had never heard a better Easter message, and, indeed, had never heard him preach a better sermon. The church was packed, and Larry had them completely with him for the whole time.

            Two services in two days and two men to think about. Nether man just sat down and waited out his remaining time after retirement. Service was their hallmark, and their joy was evident in what they did.

            In that is a lesson for all of us, no matter the age, or circumstance. Service for God and our fellow man is the way to live.

            Two lives, one not even being aware of the other, although being in the same city, two strands woven into the story of God’s work here, as played out in the lives of the people they served.

On the Road Again, Again

   WARNING: This blog post has no religious significance, even though it is Easter, which is full of it.

   A couple of years back, my wife gave me a to-go cup with a recording of Willie Nelson's song imbedded in the base, so that when you picked it up, you got the song. It was very appropriate as we seemed to be going a lot. When your kids and their kids live all over, that is the story. They all have busy lives, and we are the ones without the schedule, so we make trips to keep in touch.

   But when we go, we try to get as many things as possible done on the same trip, so the main reason for this trip is sandwiched between other things that we can do while in this part of the country.

   So here we go: Leaving on Thursday, we drive west from home toward Oglethorpe, GA, to see some friends who live out in the country around this small town. They are very hospitable folks and don't mind that we will drop in for a night and then move on. On the way toward them, we stopped at 3 county courthouses that we had missed in our quest to see all the ones in Georgia. That is multitasking for sure.

 

   Our next resting place was Chattanooga, so we left our friends after a great breakfast casserole, and moved north, picking up more courthouse pictures as we traveled. Towns such as Butler, Thomaston, Greenville, Newnan, Carrollton, Cedartown, Buchanan, Rome, Summerville and Lafayette took on some small significance as I snapped pictures, read monument inscriptions, talked to various people, and just soaked up some local atmosphere. That is fun for me, just to be in those sometimes-out-of-the-way places, seeing how people live in a culture that is different from mine. It gets a little tedious for Mayre, but she troops on anyway.

   Now we are here, in the city where both of us grew up, met, married, raised our kids and lived life until retirement in the 90s, and we come to the real reason for the adventure. Mayre's long time friend and airplane mechanic, passed away, at age 93, a couple of weeks back, and the memorial service is this afternoon. John Linn was a good man and took every opportunity to help out my wife in her flying career. Not only did he do the maintenance on her various airplanes, but was an encourager, and a willing passenger when she wanted to see if everything worked correctly. He will be missed.

   Then we will get to see various friends from our previous life before we go on Monday, north to Knoxville to see an old friend who is confined to a nursing home because of her deteriorating mental facilities. After Knoxville, we will return to Chattanooga to spend the night before leaving on Tuesday to go visit our first-born and family for a couple of days. His birthday is today and, although we are not old enough to have a 51 year old son, we will claim him nonetheless.

   Then it will be home.

   Family, friends, food and courthouses, and then I can put the coffee mug back in its place, and try to remember where I took all those pictures

Simple? Not Really!

   I entered my quiet time this morning with thoughts of what I should pray for and about as I start this new day. There were my perceived needs and also my wants. There were others in trouble and pain that I knew about, and there were thoughts about what my day ahead would look like

   I had the feeling that God knew all about these people and each and every situation, including those that would affect my life today.

   Then I remembered a quote from Jan Karon's Mitford series, where Father Tim would always bring up "the prayer that never fails". A simple, but yet profound, utterance to God "Thy Will Be Done".

   I thought about all of that as I walked in the pre-dawn stillness, and related this simple prayer to the reading in Psalms 131, where David writes:

"O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me."

   I thought of the two main ways that this prayer, and this reading can be taken. I can feel David's thoughts, and I can see this prayer manifested in two completely opposite directions.

   I can see this phrase tacked on to the end of a prayer as if to say, "OK, God, these are the things that I need and want, but, whatever". It is a prayer of resignation, that no matter my thoughts and wishes, God will just go ahead and do what He wants, regardless. It is a trusting to Fate, whatever that is, a feeling that it really does not matter what I feel, whatever will be will be.

   Then there is the sense that this simple prayer can be the realization that God is in control, but also that He works out everything for my best interest and wellbeing. He listens to what I have to say, and what I am concerned about, but then quietly says, "Trust Me, I know what is best for you right now, even if you can't see it".

   So I pray this morning "Thy Will Be Done", knowing that God cares, and that is all that matters.

   And I also pray that He will help me remember that when life happens today.

There was an Error Message on the Screen

   What happens when I get up early this morning, open the computer to see what my devotional website has for me, and find, after I type out a prayer to God, that there is no Psalm reading to start on, only a note that says "Sorry, an error has occurred"? What do I do then?

   Our pastor had given us an online devotional for the period back in January where we as a church body were encouraged to spend some days in prayer and fasting for God's guidance in the year that lay ahead. This was the Moravian Dailey Text, and I did use it for some of my early morning time back then. I also kept it on my computer and have referred back to it on several occasions when I did not feel God speaking. So today, I felt encouraged to look there at the reading for today.

   This devotional has 3 separate Scripture readings, one in Psalms, one in the Old Testament and another in the New. There are also a couple of verses on the daily theme and often hymns to go along with this also.

   Today the Psalm reading concerned the brevity of life as depicted thusly in the Amplified Bible:

   " Lord, make me to know my end and [to appreciate] the measure of my days—what it is; let me know and realize how frail I am [how transient is my stay here]."

   The verses for the theme concerned wisdom, and the one that stood out to me as I thought on all of this was I Corinthians 1:20 which states:

   "Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"

   How do the two come together in my mind this morning?

   Advice (somebody's supposed wisdom) comes in many forms. Out of the mailbox in the form of ads and promotional material, off the Internet in the some of the same forms, even from pulpits and in church meetings. How many times do I look and listen to worldly advice, from whatever source, and fail to match it up with what God says, either in His Word, or what He impresses on my heart?

   As I read both of these passages above and put them together, I realize the times of my life, even now what is left of it, and the responsibility to use it productively and in the wisdom that comes from God. The realization is easy, the implementation is harder, much harder. So my prayer is:

   God, first of all let me seek Your wisdom, then let me have ears to hear it, and also the boldness to speak it when You direct. Don't let me waste my days that You give.

Odors In My LIfe

   As I was walking this morning, my thoughts drifted back to another Easter season many years ago. It may have been almost 70 or so years since this scene was played out, but I do remember that it was an odd Easter event.  Growing up in Chattanooga as we did, the weather was fickle. Easter should be in the Spring, but we had 6 inches of snow on that one particular Holy Day. Since it was too cold and too deep for our usual Easter egg hunt, and we had, with much fanfare, dyed all of our eggs the day before, our parents let us have the hunt indoors.

   The way I remember the day, our parents hid the eggs, and we searched until we found them all. Then they let us take turns doing the hiding. Much fun was had by all, but when we counted the eggs at the end of that time, we were one short, and, with so many different people hiding, finding and playing the game, no one could identify who had hidden the one that could not be found. We looked everywhere we could think and then had to give up. It would turn up one day, we figured.

   And so it did. Some days later, a strange pungent odor began wafting through the house. It was sorta like sulfur, and, as I now know, it was the smell of rotten eggs. We found the egg in a vanity table, but were never allowed to hide real eggs in the house again.

   That is a long story, but it got me to thinking about when that happened in my life, and how long it had been since that one incident. Then when I read this verse in the Psalms:

   "My times are in your hand;"

... I thought of what the rest of my days might look like, and of course I have no idea how they will be. The possible scenarios are endless, but I know they are coming. God knows the date and the hour, and it is not for me to worry about. I only want my life to be a blessing right up to the end. Each and every day until then, I have the opportunity to bring the right kind of fragrance into the world I live in, and not be remembered as sulfur.

   I also know why we bought plastic eggs to use in case of inclement weather.

 

What is My Calling for Right Now?

   The week past has been a strange one for me. What started out on a high note last Sunday, ends up on this Sunday to be a time that I did not count on. Everyone said, "this will be a snap, and you will be about your normal life right after it is all over". But it did not turn out that way and I sit here, missing church, thinking about the whole thing.

   This morning I woke up early, a time that has eluded me these past few days, when all I wanted to do was stay in bed, in the warmth of the covers. I got up quietly without waking my wife, went into my study and prepared to read the Scriptures for today. It was then that I realized that my glasses were still in the bedroom, but I did not want to go back in there for fear of waking her up, so I just dressed and went for a walk in the wind and the dark.

  As I walked, I just asked God to enter my thoughts and give me some insights into what my life should look like right now. I had spent so much time over the past 6 days thinking about myself and how I felt, that I needed His perspective. Mine was too skewed.

  I was reminded, as I walked, that this was Palm Sunday, the day Jesus went into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, with the people applauding Him. Even though all of this was going on, Jesus knew what the week following was going to bring. It would be a hard week, but, even though He knew, He went anyway, suffered the hurt and shame, and then rose victoriously on the other side.

   Jesus knew the future, I do not. If I knew, what would I do? It would be easy to thank God for telling me what was to happen, but then say that I do not want to live the hard times.

   Then, later on in the morning, as we watched church on the Internet, the pastor used some of the same logic as he talked about Palm Sunday. I thought "this is really for me, these thoughts all tie together and make sense". I will try to just live one day at a time, without worrying too much about what the future holds. I will listen for my calling for right now, try to live it and take the next things as they come.

   The pastor asked the question "What do you love?" The answer to that is your calling from God, at least for the season at hand. Follow that, even though you do not know where it will lead, or what will happen along the road.

   So, I forgot about myself for a little while and felt better for it.

   One verse from the Psalm reading this morning:

   "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!"

A Reason to be Careful

   In a long ago yesterday time, a friend asked me why I did not put a particular bumper sticker on my car. The sticker had something to do with church or a church program that was being promoted by our local congregation, and we were encouraged to display it proudly on our cars.

   Not because I did not support what was being promoted, but I did not put one on my car. When asked, I simply said that I knew "me", and I did not want anyone who saw that car and driver think ill of something that was good. Many times I had seen a car with a fish symbol on the back or an evangelistic bumper sticker, speed by me on the freeway, or drive recklessly in traffic, and, to me at least, it gave a bad name to God and His people. I did not want to be the person that led another soul astray.

   I thought of that experience when I read the Psalm for today. From Psalm 69:

   "Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
O God of Israel."

   Our pastor has said several times from the pulpit that he was often just one step away from stupid, and since I am that way, I do not want any stupid act to be put out in front where everyone can see it.

   David's prayer above is mine also. I do not want people turned off by the way I act, or talk, or even drive. It is easy for a witness for Him to be thwarted by a "stupid" act, and I know that I am capable of just such a one.

   I do not want the people of God to have to be ashamed because of me, and I don't want those who are looking for God to be shown a bad example. To be the cause of either is not good.

   Most of all, I do not want God to be ashamed.

Living Right

   David, King of Israel, Psalmist and a man after God's own heart, gives his prescription for a life that honors God. In Psalm 101, he writes of things that he will (or will not do) do that lead in this direction. I pick out the phrases that go along with this idea.

   "I will ponder the way that is blameless."

   "I will walk with integrity of heart"

   "I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless."

   "I will know nothing of evil"

   If I look at this list for a while, I find it daunting. How could a man actually do all of that? David, himself, did not live this way all the time, but these words are a God-given picture of a man that has clean hands and a pure heart.

   Blameless: No one, not even God Himself, can point a finger at me and say that my actions, words or even thoughts are bad.

   Integrity of Heart: Living a life that is honesty personified, not just out in the world where people see who I want them to see, but starting at home, where people know the real me.

   Shunning Worthless things: Not putting before my eyes, reading, looking at, or putting images in my brain that will cause me to think impure or unholy thoughts, thoughts that are not worthy of the time that I have.

   Knowing Evil: Bad things will not be my companions, my friends. I can recognize it, as God gives me clarity of mind, but I won't dwell in that land.

   When I think about those 4 things, why does it seem like such an impossible life to live? Probably because I realize that I can't begin to do them, even one of them. Then the thought comes: I can't in myself, but only with the strength and power of God in my life.

   David was known as a "man after God's own heart", and yet he failed. Could I do better?

   Maybe not, but at least the reading and understanding of the standards God wants in my life can lead to reminders to live that way. They may only be pin pricks of conscience, but I can be stirred to remembrance. That can give me a head start toward the goal.

   Fortunately for me, I can be forgiven, but how much better to have lived as He reminds me.

 

   

Regarding Showers

   As I walked this morning, a very light rain began to fall, not enough to get wet but just enough to see it in the ponds and feel some on the body. Rain showers are welcome here. It seems we are always in a drought situation or right on the verge of one. Rain may put crimps in some plans for a time, but we can't do without it.

   As I walked and felt the small drops falling on me, I thought of the old song in our hymnals that we sang in the not so distant past. A hymn by Daniel Whittle, published back in 1883, Showers of Blessing. The words may seem a little simplistic, but, if I look closely, they convey an important message to me today.

1. There shall be showers of blessing:
   This is the promise of love;
   There shall be seasons refreshing,
   Sent from the Savior above.
   • Refrain:
     Showers of blessing,
     Showers of blessing we need:
     Mercy-drops round us are falling,
     But for the showers we plead.
2. There shall be showers of blessing,
   Precious reviving again;
   Over the hills and the valleys,
   Sound of abundance of rain.
3. There shall be showers of blessing;
   Send them upon us, O Lord;
   Grant to us now a refreshing,
   Come, and now honor Thy Word.
4. There shall be showers of blessing:
   Oh, that today they might fall,
   Now as to God we’re confessing,
   Now as on Jesus we call!
5. There shall be showers of blessing,
   If we but trust and obey;
   There shall be seasons refreshing,
   If we let God have His way.

   It is so easy to get caught up in the problems of life that we fail to see how we are being blessed.

   There are: economic issues, health issues, world issues, local issues, weather issues. All of these clamor for our attention, most of which we have no control over, in fact, all of them are out of our control to some degree or another.

  I like the end of the last verse. If we but get out of the way and let God....

   Blessings I have in abundance, not the least of these is having the time to meditate on these things. In the midst of all the issues in my world, I am grateful that God is in control, and that His promises include taking care of His children.

   I am blessed and I know it.

   Thank You, God

A Prayer For Today

   I read in Psalm 37 this morning:

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴ When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
²⁵ I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.
²⁶ All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his descendants are a blessing."

   And I make it my prayer for right now. I do not know what the day ahead of me may have in store, but I know the One who does.

   So I pray that my steps will be where He wants me to walk. Not only in the places I would go, but in the spirit and attitude that He wants me to portray.

   I pray that God will be delighted in where and how I go.

   I pray that, when I fall or fail, that He will be there to pick me up, to put my feet back on the right path and hold my hand as I proceed. Not if I fall, but when I fall.

   I know that I was once young, but now am old, but I pray that God will help me remember the way he has taken care of me and taken care of all His people.

   I pray that He will grant me to be gracious to all I meet this day, to be willing to take the time to give myself to all who come into my life today.

   And I pray that my descendants will be a blessing to those that they interact with today. That my children and grand children will let the light they have shine into the lives of others. That they might make their elders proud because of their concern for others. Not only for what they do, but for who they are.

   And I thank God that this Psalm was in my reading plan for today, causing me to pause and think, and pray.

Amen

Complacent Rites

   I got a call from the church office the middle of last week, asking if I would be one of the men to serve communion at the early service today. I often have mixed emotions about this role, because I think it is an important one, one that has the opportunity to not only serve Jesus Christ in obedience to His command to His disciples, but also the people that come forward to partake of the elements. Secondarily, it can also be a blessing to me if I look on the act in an attitude of humility and service.

   I have felt, at times, not always, that I did not want to accept the assignment, because I did not want to do it with a feeling of "just another communion observance", but to perform this service in gratitude for God's sacrifice for me.

   It was easy for me to look back and remember times that I have been busy doing things at church, even sitting in the service listening to the message, and all of a sudden the pastor called the servers to the front to distribute the elements. I would go down front, receive either the bread or juice, go to my station, serve the people and sit back down without any preparation on my part. The busyness or the music or the message had not put me in an attitude that was either respectful of the act taking place or was even an act of worship for the congregation or myself.

   It does not seem right to serve in this way without it being an act of true worship and service. What does the ritual, if I can call it that, mean to me, to the others that I serve, to God? At times, it has only been something else to do at church, and I have come away with the feeling that I should not have even participated.

   There was something different about today. I prayed silently as we neared the church, and, as the service progressed, I felt at peace with the whole thing. When we sang the Doxology, I felt the emotions leading to true worship, and as we sang the first verse, one more time, this time without any instruments, as I listened to the voices raised around me, and even heard as mine joined in, I knew the following communion time would be special.

   Looking into the faces of those who came to be served, seeing the smiles in the eyes and sometimes tears, I was satisfied not to be a complacent server of a spiritual rite.

   God was in all of that, not that He is not always, but for me, having been prepared by the things that had preceded it, I felt His presence and knew that it was right. So I served, passed the bread to the ones who came, looked into eyes and felt that I was right where I was supposed to be. It was a good feeling.

   There was nothing special about the way that communion service went forward, but, as I look back on it from the perspective of a few hours later, I realize that I was different. My heart was prepared to serve and that made all the difference.

   There is no way to be complacent when the heart is prepared.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen

Teach Me To Number, And To Act

   A verse from Psalm 90 this morning:

   " The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;"

   And another from the same Psalm:

   "So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom."

   And yet another from that same passage:

   "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!"

   What do they say to me this morning?

   By any account, my life is near the end. How near I do not know, but definitely I've many fewer days left than I have lived in my past. So, what is to be my lifestyle? How will my last days on earth be remembered, by others, and by God, Himself?

   From this Psalm, I read that I need to realize where I stand on the continuum of my life. I need to continue to learn and seek God, knowing full well that I am not filled with all the wisdom of God, even a small part of it. For what purpose is all this wisdom? To hold onto and brag about?

   No way, any wisdom that I receive from His hand is not to be hoarded. It is to be used in finishing well, and in passing on to any others that He might point out to me. Not in any foolish pride on my part, but in humility, and in a loving way, and with a prayer of all that being God's Work.

   So I pray first of all this morning for wisdom, not worldly wisdom, but true wisdom from God. Not just a lot of knowledge, but those things that are reflected in how to live. Next I pray for a loving and caring heart to be able to ascertain the times and the lives of any that might benefit from any of the above.

   None of us know where we are on this continuum, what birthday will be our last here, but we can all pray that last verse if we are trying to live each day for Him.

   "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!"

   Let it be said of my life, that this is what I want to be my goal. Let my hands be busy in the worthwhile service of God, not wasted in idle pursuit, and let me know the difference.

Visiting Oatmeal One More Time

   Since I am the oatmeal maker in this family, I like to have very detailed instructions in my recipe. So many cups of this, so many tablespoons of that, so many teaspoons of the other, mix well, stir in the bowl, put the bowl in the crockpot, turn on low for 10 hours, and there it is. All the ingredients are spelled out in detail and the cooking instructions cannot be misunderstood.

   But then, when we make a 4 serving recipe and only eat 2, what do I do then? Do I put it in the freezer for tomorrow, or is it OK to put it in the fridge for 24 hours? If I reheat it do I put extra liquid in before I use the microwave or wait till it gets hot and on the table? How long in the microwave if it is frozen or how long from the fridge? Then, if I luck up and get it right, can I remember what I did so that can be replicated the next time? Is there even "one" right way?

   I like the detailed directions from the first recipe, but dislike the uncertainty of the guesswork on the second part.

   Is my life somewhat like that also? I read a phrase in the Bible, realize that it is true and that it sounds good, but then after thinking on it for a time, come to the conclusion that, although I sense its truth for my life, I don't know the details of how to work it all out. Too often, I just say "that is right" and just go on about my day, not thinking about the "how"s of living it.

   Take this verse in Psalm 37 this morning:

   "Trust in the Lord and do good;"

   The psalmist has stated a truth, and I know that if I lived that way, God would be pleased. But where are the detailed directions, the recipe for victorious Christian living? Does God expect me to go by trial and error and then luck up and get it right?

   There is no uncertainty with God. He has written, and we are to read, understand and act. We can get that knowing and acting through more study and prayer. When I want an answer to that leftover oatmeal problem, I type in a question on Google and get a bunch of answers. When I want to know "what is good" I pray and then look for situations coming into my life that give me opportunities to find out that definition.

   It might be nice if a person met me on the street, carrying a sign that read "you can do good here", but even without that visual reminder, God can show me if I but look and listen.

   So my prayer for today is for ears that hear and eyes that see the things that God has out there. I'll use that verse quoted above and then add "and keep your senses open".

   God, I know that You do not command things that I cannot do. Please forgive my indifference, and give me grace to continue to try to understand all that You want me to be. I need Your strength for the task.

The Relevance of Oatmeal

   Is there a relevance in the mundane? I think that there must be a lot of that because of the fact that so much of our times are caught up in the normal (maybe mundane is not a good word for all of this) affairs of our lives. Sure, there are the momentous occasions, but they come few and far between.

   Why do I think about this right now, when I am trying to find some tie between the Scripture I have read and the life that I have lived, even between the time I read early this morning and right now, this time of writing. What giant spiritual discovery or insight have I gleaned?

   Let me digress a bunch of years back. When my wife and I began traveling a lot, since our kids are far away in all directions, we usually try to leave on our trips early and eat our breakfast on the road. Now this is not a plug for Cracker Barrel, but they do know how to make good oatmeal. The right consistency and taste, along with the proper condiments, make for an enjoyable breakfast.

   Since finding out what real oatmeal should be like, we have experimented with various types of the grain, and also various methods of cooking it, so as to come up with the right product. This has been a several years long process, but I think we have hit upon the formula. I won't bore anyone with the details, but I will try to tie it in with the Scripture of today.

   Let's say that the process we go through, from starting the night before, cooking it overnight, and then the serving and cleaning up is not an instant breakfast, but it is downright good.

   So much of my life is lived in the daily normals of existence. If I put down the major turning points in my life, I find that there is a lot of time between them, time that is spent in everyday routine. I feel that God is in the ordinary events of our days, even those between momentous spiritual events and decisions. He cares about each of us, every day, the ordinary ones as well as the special.

   Our lives are spent seeking. We look for the answers. We search for solutions.

   Then we find it, right in our everyday existence...the perfect Oatmeal. God knew it was there all the time. He just wanted us to have the joy of discovering it for ourselves.

   Oh, before I forget, the Scripture for today comes from Nehemiah chapter 6 where the prophet says:

   “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down"

   Perseverance in the task, whether building a wall around a city or searching for the perfect morning repast.

   The relevance of Oatmeal

 

Hit the Pause Button and Think

   There is a story, recorded in Mark 6, of Herod and his relationship with John the Baptist. It seemed as though John was constantly telling Herod that he was a sinner, a man who had wrongfully married his brother's wife, and yet Herod, realizing that there was something unique about this prophet, listened to him speak with great attention. Herod knew that John was a "holy man" and maybe even had him imprisoned so that he, Herod could listen to him, John, speak whenever the notion struck him.

   Regardless of all the possible reasons for Herod's fascination with John, there came a day when He had to make a decision. This decision was to do what he knew to be right, or to give in to his fears of other's thoughts and take the easy way out.

   Herod had given an oath to a dancing girl that had pleased him, and when she made her request to the king, a request that he did not want to honor, he was caught in a squeeze. He could deny that request because it was not the right thing to do, or he could do the wrong thing in order to keep his status among those who looked on.

   Mark records:

   "And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her."

   Herod was sorry, but he still made his decision on what to do based on what would make him come off looking good. No matter about John, no matter about right or wrong, the only matter was saving face among the crowd.

   How many times do I make decisions on the basis of what others might think about me? Or, maybe worse yet, make decisions on the basis of what I know is best for me, regardless of others at all.

   A few years back, there were many items for sale that sported the initials WWJD, or What Would Jesus Do? They may still be around, but they were worn to give a person pause in decision making. 

   Maybe I still need one!

Which Path Will I Take?

   I had breakfast this morning with a friend of mine. He and his wife had had an interesting experience the previous weekend, an hour conversation with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and his wife. They all happened to be in the same place at the same time and were thrown together for this period of time.

   As our conversation continued over breakfast, this friend related what the prominent Republican representative had talked about and how their conversation went. Now my friend is not a political person, any more than I am, but had a chance to share his feelings and frustrations about politics in general and what is going on in our country.

   After he and I had talked about all of this, our conversation turned to how we felt our country was headed and some of the things happening right now that had us concerned over the future that our children and grandchildren would be living in. We talked of problems, people, politicians and possibilities.

   All of that carried over into my readings for today. The Psalmist also was lamenting the state of the country he lived in. He went over the common scenario of the Israelite people, from blessing to a fallen state, then repenting, being forgiven by God and then beginning the same sequence all over again. His words in Psalm 78:

   " In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant."

   It is like "woe is me, here we go all over again. Will we ever learn?"

   Then another reading in my time today. This one in the Book of Nehemiah, in chapters 2 and 3:

   "Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work."

   The contrast of the two peoples was striking. On the one hand, the people accepted the blessings of God, but then soon forgot, went back to their old ways, rebelled, were punished for their disobedience, and began their cycle of life all over again.

   The people of Jerusalem, the remnant in the land from the captivity, heard what the prophet said, realized that they heard truth, and got to work.

   Will I be a part of the perceived problems that I see in our country today, or be a part of a solution?

   "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."