Is That a Chip on Your Shoulder?
Father, it’s been a fairly busy day on different fronts, but now I would ask that You quiet my heart as we come together. May I be attentive to Your words. Amen.
Romans 14:1-23 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the most disturbing things about today’s Church, at least in these United States, is that many seem to walk around with a proverbial chip on their shoulder. Reading today’s passage got my thoughts going in that direction and then I looked to see exactly where that old idiom came from.
Wikipedia states that the chip-on-shoulder idiom traces its roots back to a custom that was known in North America since the early 19th century. The New York newspaper Long Island Telegraph reported on 20 May 1830 “when two churlish [surely] boys were determined to fight, a chip [of wood] would be placed on the shoulder of one, and the other demanded to knock it off at his peril”.
It just seems that our dander is up and that we’re just itching to have someone cross us. Our theological concepts are cast in stone and, boy, you better not say anything different! That chip on our shoulder is there for all to see and you betcha we are going to defend it! It’s (whatever “it” is, is our hill to die on!)
I wonder, do we truly read God’s word, or do we just pick and choose what we think is important?
Verse 1 of today’s passage reads,
Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. v1 NLT
Good grief, people, we should be all about cutting people some slack! Love has to factor into our lives as followers of Christ, or all we do is in vain. Everything said or done outside of the parameters of love is worthless…
The statement “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in everything love.” is fairly well known in Christian circles. But who said it is a bit ambiguous. Some attribute it to St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430). Others attribute it to Rupertus Meldenius (1582-1651) or to John Wesley (1703-1791). Regardless, it is an important state of mind. Yes, I realize that it is difficult to differentiate between what is essential and what is nonessential, but unity is called for, as well as, liberty…but what needs driven home is the overriding concept of love!
What it all boils down to is this. We are sinners – every single one of us. Jesus Christ is Savior – of every single one of us. Of course, it is up to us to accept that salvation, but it does not change the fact that He is our Savior.
Right now, if I were able to ask for a show of hands, how many of us would acknowledge that we have been forgiven? For one sin? Two? Two hundred? Two hundred and fifty million? I lost count a long time ago… (though I hope and pray I’ve not reached being forgiven a googol number of times – that’s the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes!) The thing is over and over and over again, Jesus continues to forgive us – to cast our sins into the depths (Micah 7:19) of the sea. Why? Because He loves us! Enough to die for us!
No chips on shoulders…just love for one another! Amen and amen!
Aug 30th, 2023, Wed, 7:53 pm
Spiritual Hurdles
It is the end of another full day, Father. It is also almost the end of another month, and at least for us, the final days of summer break are upon us. But time rolls on. May we make the best of our time. Fill us. Use us, oh, Heavenly Father. Amen.
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Back in July of this year, I spoke of the log splitter that Karen’s father helped put together, which we now have. I referred to it in the post, The Importance of Maintenance.
I mention it again, in that 6 weeks later, it is still a work in progress to address its many issues! It’s crazy how things have not readily come together in the process. Pretty quickly I found someone willing to replace the hydraulic lines and fluid. The problem arose in trying to get it to him.
First of all, the tires are shot. Long story short, they have 14” rims. I ordered tires online but could only get one wheel off the splitter and when I finally got the tire in to be replaced, the rim was too rusted to use. In looking for replacement rims, the junkyard I checked with said it came from a 1970s Dodge. You can’t find them. I ended up buying two new 15” tire and rim combos. And, I still can’t get the other tire off…it is seized up something awful.
Bad weather (I had to be able to get my truck to where it was sitting and didn’t want it getting stuck!), sickness, and busy schedules ate up a lot of time. Then finally today, we decided to try and get it out. The bad tire inflated, and we rotated the splitter so I could back up and hook up to the hitch. Major problem #2 quickly made itself obvious. I had the wrong size ball on my hitch…
Again, a long story short, I ended up having a friend take a blowtorch to the ball – that was the only way to get it off. The heat loosened the rusted-up connection between the threads on the bolt and the nut allowing us to finally get it screwed off! Thankfully, Karen’s dad, God rest his soul, had the right-sized ball in their garage. So, finally, I got it all put together and hooked up and now I’m just waiting for my friend to let me know when I can get it to him. (He’s a farmer and farmers are busy, putting it mildly. I’m grateful he’s helping me out!)
Six weeks, and we’re almost there! It’s crazy how long this has taken.
There are times in life when, despite our best intentions, things do not proceed according to plan. Sometimes there are things in our lives that do that…and sometimes it is simply us.
Throughout my life, there have been spiritual hurdles that I have had to overcome. Sometimes they are from things beyond me that hinder my progress, but I’m sorry to say that far too often it is simply me that hinders my progress.
God calls me to follow His lead, and I do so obediently…for a time. Then something distracts me, and off I go, down paths of my own choosing that are not beneficial to my spiritual health. Gratefully the Lord does not give up on me. He continues to call me to come back to Him. Eventually, much due to the wooing of His Holy Spirit, I realize the futility of my actions and humbly…gratefully…come back into His loving arms – forgiven and free.
Too often it is a long time coming. But it is so worth whatever it takes to come back to Him. Don’t give up on yourself, even though you may have made the journey getting back longer than you intended, He is waiting. All you have to do is ask.
Aug 29th, 2023, Tues, 8:09 pm
Get Your Ducks in a Row…Today!
Outdoor responsibilities wear upon me this evening, Father, but as I have already read tonight’s passage, my mind is alert and ready for whatever You have for me!
Romans 13:11-14 (<<click here to read the passage)
Our lives are full of things for which we must be prepared. Each week I spend several hours readying myself for Sunday’s responsibilities. For this blog post to be ready first thing in the morning, I must set aside time today to work on it and have it all prepared to do so. Last week several days were set aside to work on my bus routes. With school starting next week, all my families must be contacted so they know when to be ready for me to pick their children up.
Another big part of being ready for these things in my life – and you have to ready yourselves for many things as well – is that to prepare myself only partially is not adequate preparation. If I got my sermon put together and neglected to pick out hymns for Sunday’s service would not do. I could write a blog post and even title it, but honestly, if I don’t find a good picture, many won’t even look at it – that’s what grabs peoples’ attention. And what good would it do to only contact half of my families? There would be a whole lot of unhappy parents!
The Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote his letter to the believers in Rome, approximately 25 years after Jesus’ resurrection. Verse 11 here reads,
This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
Get ready! Don’t wait until the last minute! Quickly, get all of your ducks in a row before it’s too late! Time is running out!
Readying ourselves for this world’s demands is important in the here and now, but readying ourselves for eternity is far more important!
So, here’s the part that we struggle with. In this world, there are many things that bring us satisfaction. In their proper place, many of those things are not wrong, or more precisely, sinful. It’s easy to yield – even for believers – because in the back of our heads, we know we will be forgiven for the sins we commit. God continues to forgive. Only at death is that gift no longer available.
Using Paul’s analogy, it’s easy to slip into the dirty clothes of our dark deeds. But doing that puts our preparation on the back burner…yeah, we want to be ready but, why not delve into a little extra-curricular “fun” along the way?
If we are true believers of Jesus we must do as Hebrews 12:1 commands us,
…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
The rest of today’s passage speaks volumes!
Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. vs13-14 NLT
Get your ducks in a row… today!
Aug 28th, 2023, Mon, 8:07 pm
Make the Chili
What a wonderful day of worship, Father. Thank You for Your inspiration and most importantly for Your presence. May Your words resonate through our hearts and into our lives. Amen.
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This past weekend, I came across a story that was shared by a friend on Facebook.
A good friend of mine unexpectedly lost his wife. A couple of months later we were golfing together, chatting about nothing. He asked what my dinner plans were, and I told him wifey wanted my homemade chili and cornbread, but I didn’t feel like stopping at the store. We golfed a few more minutes when he quietly said, “Make the chili.”
It took me a few minutes to realize we were no longer talking about dinner. It was about going out of your way to do something for someone you love because they could unexpectedly be taken from you at any moment. So today I’m sharing with you that wisdom handed to me by my dear friend, that I’ve thought of many times since that day. Next time someone you love wants you to go for a walk, watch a football game, play a board game, or just put your phone down and give them your undivided attention, just do it. “Make the chili”
The story, in and of itself, is poignant, but it is even more so because she and I share a mutual friend who lost her life several months ago due to complications from open heart surgery. I was good friends with our mutual friend, but their relationship went to another whole level. I think it went even beyond the level of best friends. They weren’t related but called one other sister. Saying they were close would be a gross understatement.
When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied in Mark 12:30-31,
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” NLT
The first is from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and the second is from Leviticus 19:18. They’re not some new-fangled concept. They stood at the very core of what it meant to follow the Creator God of the universe. Simply put we are to love Him and love others.
Sometimes it can be far less complicated to love our “neighbor”. That can be accomplished in any number of ways. Friends might fit into that category as well. And those kinds of relationships are special in so many ways.
But what about those closest to us…our family – spouses, children, siblings, parents. It’s so easy to take them for granted. But as the story so clearly pointed out, there are no guarantees in life. We and our loved ones may live for many, many years or it can come to an end in the blink of an eye. Do not let opportunities slip through your fingers like the sands of time through an hourglass…make the chili.
Aug 27th, 2023, Sun, 9:01 pm
Plain Vanilla
It was a very productive day, Father! Thank You for steering me in the right direction to accomplish so much!
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A friend of mine from Mt. Vernon (Thanks, Thom!) shared this the other day and I wanted to share it with you! He starts off by saying,
Time for a history lesson
Anytime someone uses the phrase “plain vanilla,” as if it somehow means boring or unoriginal. I kind of laugh to myself. Apparently, folks don’t know the real history of vanilla. For starters, it’s the second most expensive spice in the world (#1 is saffron) Vanilla is the only edible fruit out of 25,000 species of orchid! Frankly, it’s a statistical miracle. It requires a special tropical climate to grow, and each flower blooms for, wait for it – one day!
Historically, only kings could afford such a rare delicacy as vanilla.
Not to mention the invention of ice cream itself, which would have required sending an expedition to the mountains to bring back ice during a hot summer. And yet here I am. casually enjoying this frozen dessert flavored with one of the most miraculous spices in the world. You may call it “plain vanilla.” I call it a miracle: Modern life is pretty amazing if you have an attitude of gratitude!
(Check out National Geographic’s The History of Vanilla article for more information!)
What spoke to me in his sharing is the fact that, first, God is amazing, isn’t He? To be that specific with one of 25,000 species of orchids, and then to make man in such a way as to have the curiosity to see what something unknown tastes like! (The first people to cultivate vanilla were the Totonacs in the jungles of Mexico’s east coast, who were conquered by the Aztecs in the 15th century!) The intricacies of God are amazing!
And you and I, we are amazing creations of our Almighty God as well! You might consider yourself a “plain vanilla” kind of person, but you most certainly are not! God knows absolutely everything about you, and warts and all He loves you, far beyond what you could ever imagine!
You are a cherished creation of God Himself. We must not sell ourselves short!
Follow His leading. You may feel like you are off in some no-man’s land, but God knows…God cares… And believe you me, you are the apple of His eye!
King David, in Psalm 17, proclaimed,
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings. v8 NIV
And He surely will! For you are surely no “plain vanilla”!
Aug 24th, 2023, Thurs, 7:33 pm