Insulators
It is a beautiful but crisp November day! Though the trees are bare and no flowers bloom, Your creation is amazing, Father. Thank You for all You have done and continue to do!
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I glanced at the bookshelf in our office today and saw two items that we found lying around our lot shortly after moving here 30+ years ago. That’s a picture of them above. They are insulators and these are made of glass.
Older people might know where they came from and why they were used, but younger people probably do not. Here’s a quick history. They were developed in the mid-1800s to help with a big problem. Basically, when the wires carrying a telegraph signal and eventually telephone calls and electricity came in contact with a solid object, the transmissions would “leak” into the earth. Without the insulators, enough would “leak” that nothing would be left to reach the intended destination.
Another interesting fact is that small insulators were used on telephone and telegraph circuits. Larger insulators were needed for electrical (power supply) wires. Generally speaking, the higher the voltage in the power lines, the larger the insulator holding those lines has to be. The large ones helped to keep current from “jumping” or arching.
I don’t want to lose you (or myself) here, so that’s enough techy stuff. My thought is that the Holy Spirit serves as the insulator in our lives. God has given us all a lot of power. In Genesis 1:26-28, this is what God said,
“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image,
….in the image of God he created them;
….male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” NIV
We have a lot of responsibility – power – and for that power to not be wasted, we, especially after our fall into sin, need an “insulator.” The Holy Spirit enables us to keep our power in check. He enables us to channel that power in productive ways that help build God’s Kingdom.
It’s sort of like when you were a kid, and your parents gave you $5 for helping with a task. They were hoping you would keep a good portion of it back for bigger dreams and plans, but if we weren’t supervised, it would be easy to nickel and dime that $5 down to nothing quickly. Often, we wouldn’t even realize that was happening until it was too late, and the last Tootsie Roll was popped into our mouths…and that was that.
Lord Jesus, may we call upon our “Insulator” to help us regulate what we are given. May we not waste the blessings we have on this and thats that little by little siphon them all away. Guide and direct us, we pray. Amen.
Nov 29th, 2023, Wed, 12:59 pm
Food for Our Souls
It is a cold, blustery day, but I am blessed with a warm house and all the many other amenities. Thank You, Father, for Your blessings!
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (<<click here to read the passage)
I regularly use today’s passage when administering communion to my congregations. I find it to be a concise yet all-inclusive communication of that momentous event in the life of Christ and the life of the Church as well. It reads,
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. NIV
John Wesley was a firm believer in the utmost importance of receiving the Lord’s Supper regularly. Referring to communion, he states in one of his sermons,
“The grace of God given herein confirms to us the pardon of our sins by enabling us to leave them. As our bodies are strengthened by bread and wine, so are our souls by these tokens of the body and blood of Christ. This is the food of our souls: this gives strength to perform our duty, and leads us on to perfection. If therefore we have any regard for the plain command of Christ, if we desire the pardon of our sins, if we wish for strength to believe, to love and obey God, then we should neglect no opportunity of receiving the Lord’s Supper” (Sermon 101: The Duty of Constant Communion, §I.3).
So, just like our bodies require regular sustenance – food and drink – to continue functioning as they need to, we must partake of the bread and fruit of the vine to maintain our spiritual vitality. As Wesley said, it is the food of our souls.
It’s essential to take part in times of communion and, when we do, to make sure we are taking advantage of the sustenance offered. How many times do we go through the motions of communion? Do we just numbly take part, not really thinking about its importance in sustaining us spiritually?
I would challenge you in that many congregations – at least those who observe taking communion on the first Sunday of the month, which is this next Sunday – to focus on what you are doing. Look at the entire event as a means of strengthening yourself for what is to come in your life. Think of it as an opportunity to obtain strength to perform your duty as a follower of Christ. May it lead us on to perfection. May it be our source of strength to believe, love, and obey God in every aspect of our lives. Amen!
Nov 28th, 2023, Tues, 1:17 pm
People Being People
We sure appreciate this additional day off before returning to driving and teaching. My prayers are with us all as we hit the ground running again, bright and early in the morning. Father, be with us.
1 Corinthians 11:17-22 (<<click here to read the passage)
A couple of weeks ago, I drove a group of high school students to an Academic Challenge about forty minutes away. The competition had a lunch break in which they served a very nice lunch of salad, pizza, a cookie, and a drink. Interestingly, they had a sign posted as they came in that they were allowed three pieces of pizza. It was all very yummy, and portions were by no means skimpy. Limits had to be set, or some might go without.
We all know how some people can be. And it makes no difference where or when we come together to share a meal. It happened when I worked at Kohl’s; it has happened at my wife’s school among teachers at Parent / Teacher Conferences – some people have no concept of portion control. In their heads, they think about how good everything looks so good, so they help themselves…taking more than their fair share. In the process, they leave crumbs for people who must eat later.
In the church at Corinth, a problem developed. Their tradition was to have a meal before celebrating the Lord’s Supper – a meal before coming together to remember as a body of believers what Jesus had done by giving His life as a sacrifice, providing us with the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life. The problem was people were being people.
Some arrived early, and it sounds like many of them were in no want whatsoever. They had plenty to eat in their own homes but came to indulge – or better said, to overindulge in what was prepared for them all to partake in. Some even went so far as to get drunk! There was enough for all, but some overstepped the limits, taking care of themselves but, in the process, hurting those who really needed the sustenance provided.
Verses 20-22 are straight and to the point. Paul says,
When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this! NLT
Understand this, Paul clearly states in the first part of verse 20,
When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper.
Was Jesus selfish? Was Jesus a glutton and a drunkard? Did He make sure that His needs were taken care of, and if others got the shaft, oh, well!? No…absolutely not.
He gave up all that was rightly His to be born in the flesh. Time and again, He suffered and gave and denied Himself so others might live and have life to the fullest. He placed others before Himself, and unlike some of the Corinthians, our example should be Jesus. Amen, and amen.
Nov 27th, 2023, Mon, 8:00 pm
Dealing with Pricklies
Father, we are on the cusp of one of the busiest times of the year on many levels. Please help me to think clearly. Please help me to be sensitive to the many things clamoring for my attention and to give the utmost attention to what is truly important. Amen.
1 Corinthians 11:2-16 (<<click here to read the passage)
Life is full of prickly situations and topics. There are many things that you wouldn’t dare bring up in certain circles. Sometimes, they may be family-oriented – “Don’t ever bring up such-and-such with Aunt Mable!” They may have to do with things in a work environment – “Don’t ever do such-and-such! It’s not a corporate rule, but it will set off the store manager for sure!”…and then there are some church / Biblical things. And, of course, politics seems to be more prickly than ever!
Today’s passage deals with some very prickly things – rules in marital relationships and the role of women in the church. Some churches still follow them to a “t,” but many no longer do so, chalking them up as a “cultural” thing in the New Testament church.
We need to be careful that we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, some things may be “cultural” things, but at their core, there is still a truth that, regardless of their, and our, cultural mindset, must remain…and be adhered to.
My Life Application Study Bible had this to say,
While Paul’s specific instructions may be cultural (women covering their heads in worship), the principles behind them are timeless: respect for spouse, reverence and appropriateness in worship, and focus of all of life on God.
Our goal as followers of Christ is not division but unity. Jesus prayed for us, as believers, as recorded in John 17:20-23,
“I do not pray for these alone [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for [all] those who [will ever] believe and trust in Me through their message, that they all may be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe [without any doubt] that You sent Me.
I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected and completed into one, so that the world may know [without any doubt] that You sent Me, and [that You] have loved them, just as You have loved Me.
In the scope of eternity, there are many things that are far too important to forfeit because we are fixated on petty things of no consequence.
Lord Jesus, enable us to see the world and our place in it through Your eyes. May our eyes not be clouded by traditional mindsets that we hold above Your truth. Amen.
Nov 26th, 2023, Sun, 2:57 pm
Happy Thanksgiving!
Image by pikisuperstar on Freepik