The time to sit and write has come. Father, direct my thoughts and my heart to pour through my fingers to communicate what will impact those who read, whenever that might possibly be. Amen.
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In the middle of the most recent political races in an area south of us, toppers began showing up on a couple of different candidates’ promotional signs that people put in their yards. The toppers said, “Vote Against 2nd” and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was supposed to mean.
Nothing on a federal level made any sense – both candidates are running for state offices. I could find no reference to any state issues on this up-and-coming ballot – so there were no #2s to vote against. I even looked at both candidates’ Facebook pages…and nothing.
Then this past week, as Karen was traveling in that area, she saw the toppers had been corrected. Now instead of reading “Vote Against 2nd”, they now read “Vote August 2nd”! Now that makes sense! Our voting in Ohio takes place then!
I’m sure the candidates were embarrassed in that their signs are everywhere! But if you think about it AGAINST and AUGUST could look pretty similar if someone had jotted down a quick message for additional toppers. They both have the letters A and G at the beginning and both end with the letters S and T. Mistakes happen and no one is exempt.
In our lives as followers of Jesus, we have to be very careful what we are putting out there. We aren’t perfect and mistakes are made. But sometimes in those areas of our lives, corrections can be hard to communicate. Sometimes the corrections may not even get to the people who were witness to the mistake being made.
As part of this last week’s sermon, I referenced a statement of a British evangelist of the 19th century by the name of Gypsy Smith who was well known in the US and Great Britain. He said, “There are five Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, but most people never read the first four.”
Going hand in hand with his statement is a saying familiar to many of us, “You may be the only Bible some people read.” And I will say God has a fabulous way of bringing things together to proclaim His message. As I was looking for something to make a memorable PowerPoint slide to conclude the sermon, I came across this all-inclusive phrase, “You may be the only Bible some people read. Are you legible?”
Right now, ask yourself that question. Am I legible? The Gospels – the books proclaiming the Good News of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection – are available for just about anybody who cares to read them, but many don’t. We are living examples of the Gospel lived out in flesh and blood…at least we should be.
Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:16 NLT
July 25th, 2022, Mon, 10:02 pm
