Understanding Stretch Bands
Father, thank You for the opportunity to share in so many different capacities in my life – at work, through this blog, via our virtual worship, in funeral services. You are in it all and can use me wherever I may be. May Your Kingdom abound!
John 1:18 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the last areas I supervised before I left Kohl’s was the Jewelry Department. Before working in that area, I knew some things about watches but not a whole lot. I may have replaced a couple of batteries before that but nothing more. Over time I learned all kinds of things involving battery changes and band adjustments – and there is a very wide assortment of things to know!
One type of band that I was advised to avoid was the stretch band. I was told they were too difficult and time-consuming to do. So, we told customers we didn’t do them. Then new management came on board…and they knew how to adjust them.
For a while, I would call them to do them. Then finally one of them said to me, “I’m too busy to keep coming up here, you need to learn how to do them yourself.”
So, they taught me how and I understood. It took some time for me to be proficient and eventually efficient, but I finally understood how to do them.
To a much greater degree, God, for millennia could not really be understood. He communicated with humanity – Adam and Eve, Noah, and eventually Abraham and his descendants, up to Moses, through whom He gave the Law.
God communicated through a long line of prophets, but we just didn’t get it. We would do OK for a while but in short order, we would crash and burn…over and over and over and over again. It was a vicious cycle. God went above a beyond to help us, but we just weren’t getting it. Some understood but they were few and far between.
It wasn’t that God was incapable – we were the ones who were incapable. In reality, He was laying the foundation for His greatest and most impacting communication of all – the Word! The problem was that No one had ever seen God. He was holy and pure, and sin could not exist in His presence. His plan then was to make Himself available to His creation and that is where Jesus steps into time. …the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. And in His coming to live amongst us, He revealed God to us. John 1:18 NLT
With our limited knowledge and experience trying to do what God wants us to do in this life is just too difficult to handle. It was just easier to avoid it and we tell ourselves that we just don’t do God…and go on our miserable way.
In God’s perfect timing, new “management” came on the scene, and He – the Word – knew how to take it all apart and put it back together. And…he showed us how it was done!
…the [One and] only begotten God [that is, the unique Son] who is in the intimate presence of the Father, He has explained Him [and interpreted and revealed the awesome wonder of the Father]. AMP
He has shown us the way and now we can understand! It takes time and effort and application of what He has taught us, but we can do it! And best of all He is with us all along the way!
Feb 25th, 2021, Thurs, 8:05 pm
A Song to Get Me Through
Father, thank You for Your guiding hand in what I’ve been reading. I thoroughly enjoy fiction and You have open doors to things both uplifting and inspirational. My soul is fed!
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As I think back several years, Karen and I were still in our first decade of marriage (it will be three and half decades this summer!) and Massey was just a tot. I had worked in a Christian retail environment and transitioned to a totally new job for me – I went to work for a company that warehoused freight for Sears. I actually learned to operate a forklift! I am talking washers, dryers, refrigerators…even lawn tractors! It wasn’t a difficult job but boy was it hard!
I started in the summertime and between the heat and the stress, I lost several pounds. In my first week of training, I attempted to go through one of the big openings that connected the different parts of the building. Each of those had a huge fire door that would roll down to prevent a fire from spreading into adjoining areas.
Well, the problem was, I drove through the opening with my mast still fully extended! I would probably have been fired then and there but they were so desperate for help that they kept me on (when I started, they were so far behind that for months we worked 13 ten-hour days with one day off – the overtime pay was great!)
I have all kinds of stories from my time there but for the record, the only thing I damaged for the rest of my time there was a range hood that I may have just barely scratched.
I will tell you that it had me so stressed that I prayed a lot every day! And being that running a forklift is pretty much a solo act, I sang quite a bit, too.
I remember one song in particular, My Jesus. I Love Thee. (I sang it when I first started driving a school bus, too!) It is a beautiful hymn written a century and a half ago. Interestingly enough it was written by a young man by the name of William Featherston after he came to know the Lord Jesus as his Savior – he was 16 years old at the time.
It definitely got me through a tough time in my life, and I’ve read other stories about its impact on people’s lives. Maybe it has done or could do the same for you! Here are the lyrics and a beautiful rendition sung by Casting Crowns from their Hymns of Faith release.
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
Feb 24th, 2021, Wed, 7:14 pm
Superabundance!
An actual Nut House Burger!
Patience and love…how often Father are those in short supply. But I cannot count on my reserves for they are limited… But Yours Father? Your reserves are full to overflowing and their source will never run dry. Immerse me in those reserves, Father. May I be a vessel worthy of Your calling. Amen!
John 1:16-18 (<<click here to read the passage)
There is a restaurant that we enjoy whose Monday night special is a BOGO burger. You buy one of their burgers at regular price and the second one is free!
You can get a basic burger but what’s the fun in that? Karen likes the Mushroom Swiss, a burger served with sauteed mushrooms and aged swiss (though she switches out the swiss for provolone).
My favorite is the Black & Blue. It’s a burger seasoned with blackening spice served with crumbled blue cheese and crisp bacon strips. Topped with onion straws and chunky blue cheese sauce. And of course, they all come with a goodly portion of fries.
There is another one that I have never tried but it sure lives up to its name. It’s called the Nut House. Their menu says, “This massive sandwich combines two all-time favorites. A half-pound burger between two grilled cheese sandwiches made with American cheese then served with the addition of pickle and mayo.” It is a sandwich on a sandwich on a sandwich! Way too much for me!
Once again God spoke to me through some frustrations on my part before I read through the verses in today’s passage. Verse 16 says,
For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]. AMP
A sandwich is before my eyes today and on my waistline tomorrow, but God’s blessings bring nothing but a benefit to heart, soul, and mind! And He is not chintzy in His offerings!
On our part, we are poorly stocked. Our reserves are gone through quickly and we are spent…but not God! Look at this list!
…superabundance of His grace
…superabundance of His truth
…grace upon grace
…spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing
…favor upon favor
…gift heaped upon gift
And there is no end! It is all at our disposal for all of eternity!
Fulfillment of the Law, though of utmost importance, is beyond our limited reserves…but not Jesus’! He was able to fulfill, not just a part of it, but all of it!
For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ. v17 AMP
We are saved from our sins! We are saved from ourselves! And our Savior – the Lord Jesus Christ…the Word – has unlimited reserves for us all! How great is our God!
Feb 23rd, 2021, Tues, 7:17 pm
Less and Less
Father, why do I come out so often? I am problematic…putting it mildly… My only hope is claiming John the Baptist’s assertion as recorded in John 3:30, He [the Messiah – Jesus the Christ] must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. NLT (insertion mine) Father, may it be so in my life…
John 1:15 (<<click here to read the passage)
I was fairly proficient in math in school. I wasn’t super smart by any stretch of the imagination but if I remember correctly that is the one subject that I did not have to take in college in that I tested out of it. Now my son, Massey, has a much better grasp of many mathematical concepts. He actually has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics along with one in Mechanical Engineering – and of course, his most recent accomplishment, a doctorate in Aerospace Engineering. Mathematics lies at the core of them all. Though I may have been proficient in math, Massey left me in his dust while still in high school!
One thing I still have a firm understanding of is the meaning of these symbols: > and < or greater than and less than respectively.
So, connecting with my opening prayer and interesting enough with today’s passage, here are a couple of equations for you.
Jesus > me……Jesus is greater than me
I < Jesus……I am less than Jesus
I had not read today’s passage before writing my opening prayer. I am certain that God loves bringing those kinds of things together. There are no coincidences with God!
Look once more at John 3:30 in my opening,
Now read John 1:15.
John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’” NLT
John (the Apostle) is referring to John (the Baptist) in both passages. As a reminder, John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus. Many consider John the Baptist to be the last Old Testament prophet. For over 400 years, God had not used a mouthpiece to communicate His word, but John the Baptist would be the herald of the Messiah!
John the Baptist proclaimed in no uncertain terms that though he was the first to be vocal in that time that he would be followed by someone who in reality proceeded him in time and surpassed him in literally every way! There was boldness but not even a hint of pride. He exuded humility.
Do we do the same? It is so easy in our culture to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We can even do it by portraying ourselves as humble but many times it is self-righteous humility. (Can anyone say “oxymoron”?) Oh, woe is me! I am nothing…Hey! Did you hear me? I said I am nothing! Watch! I’m being humble!
Lord Jesus, once again may You become greater and greater. May I earnestly desire to become less and less. No false humility…just the real me seeking to be more like the real You. Amen.
Feb 22nd, 2021, Mon, 7:32 pm
Talk About Unique!
Father, I would ask that You would enable me to see what You see. And in doing so that Your will – not mine, not others no matter how powerful or respected they may be – but that Your will would encompass all. Amen.
John 1:14 (<<click here to read the passage)
Here is an old, old joke that I remember from when I was a child.
“How do you catch a unique squirrel?”
“U – nique up on him!”
And one more I just learned,
“How do you catch a tame squirrel?”
“Tame way.”
I know they’re lame but corny jokes are the best!
On a much more serious note, I am so grateful I don’t have to “nique” up on Jesus, for in all of creation the is no one nor no thing more unique than He. We don’t have to find Him for He has already gone above and beyond to make Himself available to all humanity – without one single exclusion!
Read through this passage once more,
And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception). John 1:14 AMP
Each of us is called a child of God but Jesus is unique in that He is the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father. As the first verses of this chapter remind us.
In the beginning the Word already existed.
….The Word was with God,
….and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
….and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
….and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
….and the darkness can never extinguish it. vs1-5 NLT
The Word – Jesus Christ – existed before there was a beginning! He has always been and always will be! Where better to stand than in a relationship with Him? Absolutely nothing gets by Him to us! If we suffer – and we must if we are to be like Him (1 Peter 2:21) – it is for our growth and development to make us still more like Him. And we do not suffer alone, for He is beside us all along the way. He never leaves our side. And in the end, if it doesn’t make us stronger but does kill us, we will be with Him and all our brothers and sisters in Christ for all of time.
(I don’t know exactly what eternity will entail but I’m pretty certain we won’t just be floating around on clouds jammin’ on our harps! God is too awesome, too creative, too forward-thinking for anything as boring as that!)
…the Word was God… yet as I wrap things up, my study Bible* had this to say (if you don’t already have a study Bible, they are very helpful!),
When Jesus was conceived, God [the Word] became a man. He was not part man and part God; he was completely human and completely divine (Colossians 2:9). Before Christ came, people could know God partially. After Christ came, people could know God fully because he became visible and tangible in Christ. Christ is the perfect expression of God in human form… Jesus is both God and man.
Lord Jesus, there is no place I would rather be that with You! Continue to draw me closer to You. May my desire to be like You burn in my heart stronger each and every day! Amen!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Feb 21st, 2021, Sun, 7:49 pm