Stay Alert! Black Vultures Are About!
Once again, Father, I give You credit for providing me with the privilege of driving a school bus. Tomorrow reflects one more benefit…Spring Break! We will have several days together as a family – what a two-for-one blessing!
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With the improving weather, Massey and I have been trying to get out for a good 30-minute walk each day. Last week I made a short jaunt alone on our local segment of the Ohio to Erie Trail (you can actually travel from Cincinnati to Cleveland on a very well-developed trail system for hikers, bikers, or walkers!)
Anyway, not far from where I began, I saw the remains of a dead sheep near a fence on the top of a bank bordering the trail. Then today I saw what was left of the sheep and flying away from its carcass was a black vulture.
All vultures are sort of nasty, being that their diet consists of dead animals. They do play an important role in the ecosystem by disposing of carrion which would otherwise be a breeding ground for disease. But the black vulture is nasty on a whole other level. While the more common turkey vulture will eat only dead animals, the black vulture, much to the chagrin of farmers, will attack cattle and sheep. The vultures will swarm the newborn or incapacitated animals in a group, then peck at its eyes, nose, or tongue. The animal then goes into shock and is killed by the vultures
Now I don’t think that’s what happened to the sheep I saw but after the black vulture found it, it was definitely a gruesome sight.
Many of us are familiar with Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep found in Luke 15:4-6,
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ NLT
That’s a story with a happy ending but what of the errant sheep whose stubbornness or naivety puts it in a place where it is beyond the point of being rescued?
Thinking along those lines brings to mind another passage of Scripture penned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by the Apostle Peter.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NLT
The devil could just as easily be portrayed as a black vulture.
When we choose to do our own thing or go our own way, we are just as defenseless as dimwitted sheep! When we desire to separate ourselves from the “herd” we can readily put ourselves in harm’s way. There is security in numbers. Being a part of a group can help keep us moving in the right direction. And being in fellowship with others can deter those aggressive lions and black vultures from even coming around! But if we set our minds on pursuing our own desires our lives can become a gruesome sight as things beyond our ability to fend off take bite after bite out of us, until there is nothing left…
Lord Jesus, help us when we do wander, that we will never hesitate to return to Your side. And if You do find us in some predicament, may we quickly realize the error of our ways and joyfully yield to Your saving grace! Amen.
Mar 31st, 2021, 9:45 pm
Learn from the Pro
Father, sometimes it’s hard to sit and think about what to write. Though not nearly as awful as many times in history, the times in which we live are nonetheless wearying. Divided peoples – even families, evil runs amuck in our world. Good is bad, bad is good. I would pray that it would not be debilitating…that we would remain strong, not in our own strength, but in Yours alone! Amen.
John 3:1-2 (<<click here to read the passage)
Maybe you’ve never thought of it before but a major ingredient in learning is humility. In order to learn we have to realize that we don’t already know everything. Many of us have come across people in our lives who, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t teach them. They’d jump ahead of everything you put forth, either claiming existing knowledge of it or arrogantly proclaiming they knew a better way to do it.
In a short chat the other morning, a gentleman I met spoke of men who helped him lay tile. (Local farmers quite often will place tile – plastic drainage tubes – below wet lying fields to drain off excess water. Heavy rains will create temporary ponds often killing developing plants.) There is machinery involved, and this gentleman is a local pro.
He stated that when he gets new labor, he starts them off with a shovel. Many aren’t too thrilled to begin their time that way but soon realize that as he breaks them in on how everything works, that was the best place to start. The novices bend their wills to the master.
Nicodemus was a pro in his field (pun intended!) He was a Pharisee and such a high-ranking one that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. But, unlike many of the other Jewish religious leaders, he was smart enough to know when someone outranked even him.
I love the way the Amplified Bible puts it. Nicodemus begins his conversation with Jesus by saying.
“Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.” (emphasis mine)
He realized he didn’t know it all and even though it was difficult to understand, he didn’t outright reject what Jesus had to say. In fact, by the time Jesus’ trial came around, Nicodemus so firmly believed in Him that he actually stood up for Him. (John 7:50-51)
We have this awful tendency to stick to our guns when it comes to learning. I know what I know and you’re not going to change my mind! But, especially when it comes to growing in our walk with Jesus, His knowledge far surpasses ours. May we humbly bow at his feet and learn from the Master!
Mar 30th, 2021, Tues, 6:48 pm
Veneers Unacceptable
Cutting wood on Saturday was productive but, Father, my body is so feeling it today. Little sleep doesn’t help a bit, either. Despite it all, may I clearly hear You speaking to me. Amen.
John 2:23-25 (<<click here to read the passage)
Several years ago, when we were redoing our bathroom, we decided to replace our sink and the cabinet under it – our old one had very little storage, and it had a limited counter area around the sink itself.
Being that it was to be used in a room where there would be lots of moisture, we decided we wanted to get a cabinet constructed of solid wood. It was nigh impossible, in our price range, to find one! Everything we looked at either had a wood veneer (a thin slice of natural wood) or a plastic coating (made to look like wood) attached, through gluing or pressing, onto a panel of fiberboard or particleboard. They were manufactured to give the appearance of an all-wood piece when in reality only the surface is taken from natural wood.
When Jesus began drawing disciples and other followers around Him, He was extremely selective. By no means was He exclusive, all were welcome, but where many began to trust in him…Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart. vs23-25
A verse mentioned in my study Bible* was Jeremiah 17:9. It reads,
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
….and desperately wicked.
….Who really knows how bad it is? NLT
Who really knows? Jesus really knows. The Amplified Bible says that Jesus, understood the superficiality and fickleness of human nature and that He knew what was in man [in their hearts—in the very core of their being]… vs24-25
Sadly enough, as time went along those proclaiming “Praise Him!” one day were screaming, “Crucify Him!” the next.
As I’ve said, Jesus wanted genuine followers. It made no difference who you were, where you came from, what your gender was, how much money you had, etc., etc. Jesus loves you for you! But we have to be real. We have to own up to our frailties and fall at his feet for mercy and forgiveness. And maybe it happens time after time…but Jesus knows us. He knows, and understands, who we are but even more importantly He knows who we can be.
Lord Jesus, help us fess up to the fact that we are weak. But help us to understand that in You we can be strong. Enable us not to just have the appearance of genuineness but may we be the real deal through and through. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Mar 29th, 2021, Mon, 8:46 pm
Not Behind Our Four Walls!
A full day of family time! Thank You, Father, for Your bountiful blessings!
John 2:18-22 (<<click here to read the passage)
A statement I have read and have heard a fair amount over the last year came to mind when I read today’s passage.
The building may be closed but the Church is always open!
The Church, as a whole, has struggled in this last year. Because of COVID-19, many churches have curtailed their “in-person” worship. My two churches went for a time with only virtual worship, but one was able to conduct outside services beginning in June of last year and the other began to meet in person starting in September. With an uptick in virus cases in our county both churches went back to virtual in the middle of November and we have been in that mode since then.
All kinds of things have impacted how the Church has responded. Some have been able to regularly take part in weekly virtual services. Some do not have the means to do so. And honestly, some just decided not to bother with any of it.
I have felt a loss in not meeting together. We are definitely shortchanged when we are unable to interact and socialize face-to-face. That interpersonal communication has stunted our growth and development as individuals but one thing it shouldn’t do is stunt our spiritual growth.
Unfortunately, many are dependent upon gathering for worship and fellowship because it is the only time that we ingest Biblical learning and challenges. So in a way, we hinder our spiritual growth even when we do come together because many rely solely on that short time, one day a week to feed upon the Bread of Life.
Can you imagine if we fed ourselves physical sustenance only once a week and even that for a short time? We would all be emaciated and in need of dire medical attention! We would never think about it, would we?
Don’t you think our spiritual vitality is even more important? After all, our bodies are only able to make it eighty or more years at the most, and then it is ashes to ashes, dust to dust. But our souls? They are eternal…they will exist for eternity in pain…or in sorrow. They need fed…and more than just once a week!
This has taken a bit of a tangent but regardless, it is extremely important that it be addressed!
My original thought regarding this passage is that some struggle with not meeting face-to-face because to them it is not church. For it to be church, many feel it has to be in the building we call church.
When Jesus stated, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” v19 the Jewish leaders assumed He was speaking of the building of worship from which He had just thrown out animals and tradesmen. But that was not the temple of which He spoke. Jesus was speaking of his own body. v21
Verse 22 goes on to say,
After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
Another quote I have seen online is:
The church is NOT the building, it’s the body of Christ.
The Church should never be limited by the four walls of the buildings in which we meet. In fact, years ago that is exactly what they were called, meeting houses. It was a place where the faithful would regularly meet to encourage one another – a place where the faithful could be challenged and taught – a place where the faithful would hear the testimony of what God was doing out in the world where the Church was at work!
So faithful followers, do not be discouraged for the Church – the body of Christ – is very much alive! Whether our meeting time is virtual or face-to-face, we are stilled called to be the Church…not behind our four walls but up-close and personal in the world! Lord, help us!
Mar 28th, 2021, Sun, 8:19 pm
Justified Anger
Father, time and time again I speak of praises for all that You do. I feel that I am just repeating myself in my very finite mind, but I realize, too, that if with every breath I praised You, my whole life would be inadequate to truly do You justice!
John 2:13-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Anger. Some of us struggle with it on occasion while the struggle of others is the fact that it is only occasionally that they are not angry!
Admittedly, I battle anger. Knowing my family, I would say, honestly, that we most definitely have a propensity toward anger. For me, at least, it’s just sort of there laying beneath the surface. I can usually keep it pushed down in public, but like a pressure cooker at some point, the steam needs to blow! Unfortunately, it too often happens when I am around people closest to me. It may be directed at them but they can also be caught in the crossfire when my anger is directed at someone else or circumstances outside of my control.
It is an ongoing point of prayer. I realize I am not the only one who goes through this but I’m not responsible for dealing with the anger of others, but I am responsible for dealing with my anger!
An honest question is, “Is it always wrong to be angry?”
The honest answer to that question is, “No.”
Looking at today’s passage, we can best describe the emotion that Jesus is exuding as anger. Verses 15 and 16 paint a pretty vivid picture.
Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” NLT (emphasis mine)
We can all claim that we have reason to be angry, but can we legitimately do so? There may be times when that is the case but usually our anger is set off by some obscure infraction. Often it is simply the proverbial last straw breaking the camel’s back.
But looking at Jesus’ actions, His response to these grievous infractions was totally legitimate! We’re not talking about Him getting His toes stepped on or His ego bruised. The scene described involved the Temple – His Father’s house literally turned into a marketplace!
In comparing this passage with others found in the Gospel, scholars hold that this was taking place not just in the area surrounding the Temple but in the Temple itself – specifically in the Court of the Gentiles. If you weren’t a Jew but had been drawn to a relationship with the One True God, that was the only place you could go to worship. How in the world would you worship in those conditions?
If you’ve ever been around cows and sheep you quickly realize that they can be…let’s say, a bit messy! Not to mention noisy! And they wouldn’t have been the only source of noise. I doubt the merchants were quietly selling their wares. They were probably shouting to get everyone’s attention. More than likely, unless you were deaf, and your nose was plugged, worship wasn’t going to happen!
And you can guarantee that the merchants were price gouging – high prices for merchandise and of course you couldn’t use your money, you had to exchange it for money acceptable to the Temple treasuries!
Now that would be a reason to be legitimately angered…and Jesus was!
I sure don’t have all the answers, but I do know the best place to start in finding those answers…our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Lord Jesus, help us…help me. Help us all to deal with anger. May we address the unjustified anger we fight against, but may we also be forthcoming in exuding justified anger as did You. Amen.
Mar 25th, 2021, Thurs, 7:45 pm