BEAUTIFUL BUT DESTRUCTIVE

The recent ice storm here in Harrison and surrounding area is the worst in years. Power is still out to most of those in outlying areas. It has tested our resolve and called on our creativity, just to make it through until power is restored. It has reminded us again of the power in nature; a nature which was created and is overseen by an omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnipresent (everywhere present) God.

We were more fortunate than many, in that our power was restored after about one and one-half days. Many will probably be without for as much as two to three weeks. After the power is restored there will continue the clean-up, which will probably last well into the spring or summer.

I have observed that an ice storm can be beautiful and yet very destructive. I can go outside our apartment and simple focus on the way the trees and shrubs, loaded with ice, sparkle in the sunshine. If I temporarily forget the wider effects of the storm, I can admire the beauty of a tree decorated with nature’s icy ornaments. But when I think about the damage it has caused, its beauty is overshadowed by it's destructiveness.

By The Way there are things in life that can appear beautiful, but in the end they are very destructive. The Scripture declares in Hebrews 11:24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of the king of Egypt's daughter.25 He chose to suffer with God's people instead of enjoying sin for a short time.26 He thought it was better to suffer for the Christ than to have all the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking for God's reward. (New Century Version)

What beautiful surroundings Moses could have continued to enjoy, what an opulent lifestyle he could have continued to indulge in, but he knew that the beauty and opulence were for a short time. He chose the right way over the bright way. Who among us would want to continue to have the beauty of the "ice show" at the expense of our safety, our warmth, and our ability to get around?

Beauty indeed may be in the eye of the beholder, but as Christians we must never be gullible enough to believe that external beauty always tells the whole truth about a person or an event. We must always be on our spiritual guard in order to see both the external and the reality behind it. If we are not fully attentive we can suffer a spiritual setback and be hurt or even derailed from our God given mission. There is beauty in creation and in all of nature, but we must learn to respect it, as we respect the God who created it. God is still in charge. He is God before the storm, during the storm and after the storm.

I remember the ice storm of 1999. Again the trees and grass were beautifully adorned with a thick layer of sparkling ice. But I was foolish enough to think I could drive my pickup down the hill from the house where we lived at the time. I almost went over a large bank when the truck started sliding, I fell several times, my son and I got so cold we were almost frost bitten, and I could not get chains on the pickup no matter how hard I tried. I experienced the power behind the beauty. But because I did not respect that power I crawled back to the house, cold, bruised, and frustrated. May that not happen again.

My prayer is for God’s protection on those who are helping to restore essential services, and that all of us may learn the lessons God is teaching us through the storm.

Happy huddling

BLOGTHOT: IT IS OK TO ADMIRE BEAUTY, BUT BETTER TO RESPECT THE POWER BEHIND IT.

GETTING READY FOR GUESTS

I have been working in my guest room/office/storage room/etc room today, making it ready for guests. Joey, Angie, and the girls, Shelby and Maddie are driving home from Ft. Campbell, where Joey, my son-in-law, is stationed.

The bed was covered with papers, files, and other assorted things we had not yet gone through from our recent move to this apartment. I found all sorts of neat things. In fact I probably would have finished the job earlier if I had not stopped so many times to check out things I hadn’t seen in a while.

Anyway, I got to thinking about how we can get in gear when we know we have company coming. We want to be ready for them. We want the apartment to be ready and of course a clean organized room where they will be sleeping.

In my mind I got to thinking about another visitor that will soon be coming. He is not just your ordinary visitor. He is really more than a visitor. He is the Landlord. No, not the earthly landlord, but the heavenly one. You know by now that I am speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, who said He was coming back. He told us to be ready for His coming.

Notice what the Scripture says in 1 Thess 4:16 The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died believing in Christ will rise first.17 After that, we who are still alive will be gathered up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever.18 So encourage each other with these words. (New Century Translation)

To be ready is more than being saved, but being ready by having our lives cleaned out, and organized according to a Biblical priority. We do not want to be embarrassed when he comes.

By The Way there is something else that I have realized from all this preparation for visitors. To get things ready, and get things in their right place is good for the guests when they arrive. But, you know, having things clean and straightened makes life more enjoyable while we wait for the guests to arrive. It lowers ones anxiety level to go into a room that is clean, straight, and ready for occupants. I think the same is true of our preparation for our Lords return. We will have a better time and greater joy if we have things ready even though His return may be a while.

Happy preparing!

BLOGTHOT: IT IS GREAT TO GET READY, BUT BETTER TO STAY READY

TRAVELING IN MY BUICK

I really love my ’98 Buick Le sabre. I have had it in the garage for repairs for about a week and have missed being able to drive it. During that time I have had to drive Marie’s 2001 Ford Explorer. She loves her car also. But not having my car for a while got me to thinking. Is it more important to have a place to go, or is it more important just to be able to go… anywhere?

When the price of gas went up we did cut back on our travel. When it started coming down I got the driving fever again. I have come to the conclusion that I just like going. I can decide where to go after I take off. You know, that is not the smartest thing to do. Now understand, there is nothing wrong with just driving around for the sheer pleasure of it, but it can become a waste of time and high priced gas.

By the way, it occured to me that there are a lot of people who live their lives that way. They are always going, but are not sure of their ultimate destination. We live in a "going" world. We can go faster than any generation before us, but I am afraid that we have less understanding of where we are going, why we are going, and how to get anywhere in particular.

Every nation and culture has had a sense of history. But all major cultures except the Hebrew people viewed history as cyclical. It went in circles and was always repeating itself. The Bible was written from the viewpoint of linear history. There was a beginning and we are traveling toward a grand climax. Someone has said, “If you do not know where you are going, any place will do.” History in general is His-story. Our personal history, our travel through this life, should also be His-story.

We should really enjoy this journey through life, but one thing that makes the trip so enjoyable is knowing our ultimate destination. And we can know our ultimate destination if we are personally acquainted with the travel planner, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many of those around us do not know that they can know for sure what their ultimate destination is. We need to tell them about heaven, how to get there, and how to enjoy the trip.

Over and over Jesus said to those who would listen, “follow me.”

In John 14 Jesus said “4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

HAPPY TRAVELING

BLOGTHOT: IT'S GREAT TO TRAVEL BUT EVEN BETTER TO KNOW YOUR ULTIMATE DESTINATION

WALKING THE WALK

We live in a day of sound bites, symbols, sayings, and shallow commitments. You rarely see someone wearing a cap or tee shirt that does not proclaim a product, a pronouncement or a political statement. Now, I do not have a big problem with such things, but I do have a problem when the person wearing such does not reflect what their symbols or words imply. If you are going to talk the talk, then you need to walk the walk.

I remember stopping at a red light and noticed the car in front of me had a bumper sticker that read, “Honk if you love Jesus!” I honked a couple of times, but the response I received was a fist shook in my direction. I thought about calling the police and reporting a stolen car. I figured that the guy driving the car could not have been the owner, since he did not acknowledge what the bumper sticker implied. Yep, I thought, that guy has stolen the car from the real owner. But I did not call the police because I regretfully came to the conclusion that in our day you certainly cannot tell a book by it’s cover, and you cannot assume that everyone who uses bumper stickers intend to live up to their message. If we expect folks to believe what we advertise, we must live up to what we advertise.

Notice what James says in James 1:22 Do what God's teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves.23 Those who hear God's teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror.24 They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like.25 But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God's teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.

By the way, did you see the championship game Thursday night between Oklahoma and Florida? I could not help but notice that Tim Tebow had “3:16” in the blacking under his eyes. Now here is a guy that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. The guys in the broadcast booth were talking about the character and sincerity of this guy. Tim is the real thing. For a 21 year old young man, he is already a symbol of what it means to be a man’s man and an humble Christian wrapped up together.

My prayer for Tim is that he will continue to put Christ first in his life regardless of all the human accolades he receives and the sports awards he garners. I know that many of you were saddened that Oklahoma did not win the game, but as a Christian how could you not have respect for a guy like Tim Tebow.

I do wonder, however, if someone from the ACLU saw the Scriptural reference under his eyes, and are preparing to protest. When the ACLU gets upset, it is usually because someone is doing the right thing. Go Tim!!

BLOG THOT: "It is ok to advertise as long as you are sold on the product."

CHRONOS OR KAIROS

During this first part of 2009 I have been thinking of “Time.” It is interesting that in the Greek new testament there are two words often translated “time.” But they have different meanings and refer to two different things.

One word is “chronos,” and is from that word we get our English word, chronology. It refers to time in general. It denotes the quantity of time, and the passing of time. It refers to duration, whether long or short. The other word is “kairos.” It refers to a measure of time, the opportune or seasonable time, the right time, a limited time, to what time brings.

In short “chronos” refers to the movement of time. “Kairos” refers to the opportunity a certain moment or season brings us.

By the Way “Chronos” time can be broken down in many ways. There is nothing we can do about the chronology of time. It can’t be slowed, saved, or sped up.

• 1 picosecond (1 trillionth of a second) - about the shortest period of time we can currently measure accurately

• 1 nanosecond (1 billionth of a second) - 2 to 4 nanoseconds is the length of time that a typical home computer spends executing one software instruction

• 1 microsecond (1 millionth of a second)

• 1 millisecond (1 thousandth of a second) - The typical fastest time for the exposure of film in a normal camera. A picture taken in 1/1000th of a second will usually stop all human motion

• 1 centisecond (1 hundreth of a second) - the length of time it takes for a stroke of lightning to strike

• 1 decisecond (1 tenth of a second) - a blink of an eye

• 1 second - an average person’s heart beats once each second
Then, we examine the higher, more tangible, elements if time:• 60 seconds - one minute

• 60 minutes - an hour

• 8 hours - The typical workday in the U.S., as well as the typical amount of sleep a person needs every night

• 24 hours - a day. The amount of time for the earth to rotate one time on its axis

• 7 days - a week

• 40 days - about the longest a person can survive without food

• 365.24 days - a year. The amount of time it takes for the planet earth to complete one orbit around the sun

• 10 years - a decade

• 75 years - The typical life span for a human being

• 5,000 years - The span of recorded history
How is it we can measure time from its most finite position to its known extent, yet we cannot know, realize or accept what hour we are in right now?! That is where “Kairos” comes in. “Kairos” is our opportunity within the “Chronos” to make a difference.

What we do with our God given opportunity is all that counts. At the end of 2009, we can say, 365 days are gone and can never return, we will never see them again. But if we used our opportunities to honor God, and bless others, the results of that are not gone, but will go on bearing fruit.

I am not a seer, nor do I have special powers to look into the future. But if I am reading my Bible correctly and am seeing current events properly, we are living in most significant time since the first century. Perhaps we have a better opportunity than any generation before us to take the Gospel to every people. Christ says when that has been done, then the end will come.
“Carpe diem,” is a quotation from Horace's Odes (I, xi) is Latin and means ‘seize the day’, in other words ‘make the best of the present moment.’ Though the term in Horace's Odes was used with the idea of just living for today, and getting all the pleasure you can, I think the phrase can be sanctified and become a watchword for believers. We must as believers seize the moment. We must make the most of the opportunity God has given us.

Paul says in Ephesians
5:14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

MAY YOU BE IN TIME, ON TIME, DOING THE RIGHT THINK AT THE RIGHT TIME