Chipmunk Syndrome
Father, it was surely a full day. I pray that people were moved to a more fulfilling understanding of communion today in our services. May Your Word not come back empty! Amen!
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One thing that we have a plethora of is chipmunks! And to my knowledge, I don’t believe that have gotten into anything that they shouldn’t have and haven’t caused any damage.
Karen gets a kick out of them because when she’s outside suddenly one will pop out from under our hostas or from behind the wood pile or wherever, they’ll take a quick look around and zip – they are off! All the while they have this air about them that they have gone unnoticed. They seem to feel that they are quite sneaky! Either they are oblivious to our presence or think they’re too fast for us to notice them.
I saw one suddenly appear out from our wood pile this morning, he looked, then darted under the wood splitter. It made me think of our relationship with God. Many times, we’re up to some sort of mischief or another – we’re as guilty as the day is long but we take a quick look around and seeing no one, dash off to our next endeavor. The thing is we are not getting off scott free. We are not going unnoticed. God Almighty is omnipresent and omniscient, i.e. He is everywhere and knows everything.
As sinners, to some degree, we are oblivious…or at least we’ve convinced ourselves into believing that there’s nobody there to catch us doing what we are doing. But we are only lying to ourselves. I would dare say that most of us know that we are doing wrong. We may not acknowledge that there is a God but down deep inside of us there is that conscience – and honestly, I believe it is the Holy Spirit calling us out, helping us to realize that what we are doing is not right. We are guilty.
As followers of Christ, we are only fooling ourselves. God knows and He is not sidetracked in the least. We “pretend” we are getting away with things, but thankfully the Holy Spirit’s speaking to us comes through more clearly, and though we may at times ignore Him, He eventually gets through all the barriers we have erected in our attempts to shut Him out. We realize the error of our ways, confess our sin – seeking forgiveness – and are reinstated into the graces of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I am in a better place in my relationship with the Lord than at many times in my past, but I still occasionally struggle with “chipmunk syndrome”. Temptation can lure me to stop and contemplate something that if quickly addressed and cast aside has no lasting impact on me. But I can linger too long on something that the Lord and I have agreed is not good for me, and I had best be cutting it off sooner rather than later.
Lord Jesus, help me to abide in You – to stay close to Your side, for only there will I be able to see and feel what Your perfect will is for me in the here and now. Amen.
So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]. James 4:7-8 AMP
Oct 1st, 2023, Sun, 7:42 pm
Our “Wisdom” on Its Ear
With all the pressure of so many things to get done, Father, I am grateful for Your grounded presence in my life. Where things could become overwhelming, You provide a solid base upon which to stand and to continue building my life. Praise Your Holy Name!
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (<<click here to read the passage)
“Thinkers” in this world think they have it all together and that they have all the answers. Even those who hold themselves to be “thinkers” but are more so “thinkers-on-the-side”, hold the same thoughts. It seems to me at least that a lot of people think they know stuff but in reality, are just rehashing what they have been told by someone along the way. They just think and repeat, and never really ponder and think through.
A good friend, following yesterday’s post, asked what the Apostle Paul meant by “foolish preaching” in verse 21. Here’s the verse.
Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. NLT
I needed to look at it, think about it, ponder it – and thinking it through, here is my answer.
First, I want to repeat a passage I shared a couple of days ago. The Lord says in Isaiah 55:8-9,
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
….neither are your ways my ways,”
……..declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
….so are my ways higher than your ways
….and my thoughts than your thoughts. NIV
Too many of us think that we are right and everybody else is wrong. A great many hold thoughts on most biblical things to be foolish.
When Jesus came onto the scene, many held the Good News to be foolish because they thought the Messiah would be a conquering king accompanied by signs and miracles. He wasn’t the Messiah that they thought He should have been. And he was executed as a criminal… How could a criminal be a savior?
Greeks put Jesus and the Good News in the foolish category, as well. They didn’t believe in a bodily resurrection, and no reputable person would be crucified. To them, death was defeat, not victory.
Yet today foolish is the label placed by many on Jesus and the Good News. Our society worships power, influence, and wealth. Jesus came as a humble, poor servant, and he offers his Kingdom to those who have faith, not to those who do all kinds of good deeds to try to earn salvation.
God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways. God turns our “wisdom” on its ear. What the world deems as foolishness, is true wisdom. And our foolish preaching has been used to save those who believe.
Death seems to be the end of the road, the ultimate weakness. But death is not the end. Because Jesus’ resurrection is only the beginning!
*Life Application Study Bible
Sept 28th, 2023, Thurs, 12:59 pm
Turning Foolishness into Power!
Father, I pray that moving our time earlier in the day will help me – a fresher mind and body will be great assets in the work! Use me as You will!
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (<<click here to read the passage)
Have you ever heard of Lee Strobel? He was an investigative journalist for several newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune through the 1970s into the early 80s. He was a self-proclaimed atheist…and then his wife – in response to a “persuasive” neighbor – got talked into going to church. Through that experience, she accepted Christ as her Savior.
Lee was none too happy about that. He had concluded that the best way to live his life was as a hedonist. “Just pursue pleasure, this is all you get in this world. So, that was my number one goal in life,” says Strobel, “to bring maximum pleasure into my life. And so I lived a very immoral, and drunken, and profane, and narcissistic, really self-destructive kind of a life. That was my life.” (https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/case-for-christ/)
So, the decision on her part turned his world upside down. He decided the best way to get things back to “normal” was to go with her and, through his own research, show that it was a whole bunch of nothing.
Well, that is not how things turned out. Strobel, through his research, proved to himself, that Jesus was the real deal and after a year and nine months, gave his life to Christ as well. He published his story in a book entitled, The Case for Christ, in 1998. The Case for Christ was made into a movie in 2017. (They are both excellent! Click on the titles for links.)
In the 18th verse of chapter one, the Apostle Paul states,
For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God. AMP
First, just because we are “foolish” doesn’t mean that God wants us to stay that way. He is always in pursuit of us because He loves us so. His greatest desire is for us to love Him, as well.
Second, it is not always up to a “professional” Christian – a pastor or evangelist – to usher others into the presence of Christ. In the Strobels’ lives a neighbor, by the name of Linda (Alfie in the movie), reached out to and loved Lee’s wife, Leslie. She invited her to come to church with her and God took it from there!
Many in the world around us might think that the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] because they don’t understand it. God is in the business of opening the doors and windows of our minds, calling us to Himself – turning foolishness into power!
Sept 27th, 2023, Wed, 12:48 pm
Grateful for a New Slate
I had my last trip of the month today to the far-off middle of nowhere! I was blessed by pleasant conversation, safe travels, and the opportunity to accomplish something in the middle of it all! Thank You, Father, for Your abundance!
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I am weary of mind and body this evening. Not enough solid sleep and a day that has not let up since I got up has brought me to this point. I’m just not able to pull anything together. I’ve read the next passage in 1 Corinthians, but I just can’t seem to process and organize my thoughts to anything cohesive. I can’t even find an old post to share. Sometimes life just catches up with us, and we have to just sit back and let God do with us what He will.
There is nothing wrong with admitting that we can’t go on…that tomorrow is a new day. I for one am grateful for a new slate each new day.
My prayer recently has been that God would just use me however He sees fit for that given day. At times, temptation starts to rear its ugly head in my thoughts and gratefully, my heart – leading my mind – rushes to God’s side. I may pray. Sometimes it’s a thought that could be disastrous if I lingered on it, but say when I’m driving my bus route, I pray for my fellow drivers. In my mind, I start with bus #1 and say a prayer for the driver. Then I move to bus #2, then #3, then #5, and so on until everyone has been lifted up. I pray for our supervisor, our mechanic, and the aids, our subs…and when I’m done, the temptation that popped into my head is gone.
Sometimes I sing a song in my head…whatever it takes to get my thoughts back on things of God, and the slate is wiped clean for the Lord to do what He will do in my life.
I hope this hasn’t rambled on, but I would encourage you to go to the Lord, as well. Whatever weighs upon you, He can handle. And He will get you through it. Lean on Him. Trust Him. He will not let you down.
As the refrain of the old hymn goes,
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!
Amen.
Sept 26th, 2023, Tues, 5:51 pm
The Persuasive Power Is in the Story
Our world is so full of stresses, Father, may we strive to pause, think, and then love with all our hearts – both You and others. Love conquers all! (That phrase isn’t in the Bible but the concept sure is!)
1 Corinthians 1:17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Growing up I don’t remember ever thinking that I was going to be a preacher. I never felt led to do anything but serve in the church (my degree is in Church Music), but my plan was to only be behind the pulpit leading worship or singing a solo on occasion.
I am grateful that the Lord says in Isaiah 55:8-9,
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
….neither are your ways my ways,”
……..declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
….so are my ways higher than your ways
….and my thoughts than your thoughts. NIV
My life has not gone the way I thought it would but, God knows best!
That being said, I do enjoy preaching. As my churches are well aware, I almost always rework another preacher’s sermons. (There are multiple sites where preachers share their sermons, and others are encouraged to use them how they will.) Being bi-vocational has its challenges. I never preach a sermon verbatim, but work through it, changing and tweaking it to reflect who I am and how I communicate – all under the watchful guidance of the Holy Spirit.
For myself, and for that matter, all of us, The Apostle Paul’s statement in verse 17 needs to be adhered to. He emphasizes the fact that Christ sent him “to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” NIV
My Life Application Study Bible states that Paul was not against those who carefully prepare what they say but against those who try to impress others with their knowledge or speaking ability. He stressed solid content and practical help for his listeners: He wanted them to be impressed with his message, not just his style. You don’t need to be a great speaker with a large vocabulary to share the Good News effectively.
I love speaking but I always must keep in mind that I am just a simple vessel through whom our great and mighty Lord shares His message. I don’t want to be guilty of emptying the Christ’s cross of it’s power… What truly changes us to the core of our being is the power of the cross of Christ. The persuasive power is in the story, not the storyteller. (emphasis mine)
Sept 25th, 2023, Mon, 12:37 pm