Month: September 2024

My wife and I have been trying to put together a bifold closet barndoor.  Its track hardware is from another company.  The “instructions” for both items are in drawings. Missing are actual steps on how to get things done, and most importantly, words!  I looked up some videos and comments and found one person who took seven hours to hook up two doors-with a nagging wife rushing him to get it done! Another comment said his door or wall looked like Swiss cheese from all the in-the-wrong-places he had drilled trying to stabilize the door!  Someone else ended up with a screw sticking out and said he’d fix it at a later date.  In short, simple projects can take a long time.

Sometimes our lives can feel like Swiss cheese; everything falls out or leaks through in a thousand directions, and we figure on fixing them at a later date, which never comes.  Each time we’re confident of a decision, commitment, a move, or a relationship, we “drill” a new hole for stability, but it doesn’t always line up with God’s will for us.  Pick up the pieces* of your life and lay them at His feet.  He’s the Door leading to the Father and is as square and aligned as can be.

 Maybe your life doesn’t resemble Swiss cheese. Maybe it’s a bit more solid like Limburger cheese. Nevertheless, without Christ, we’re still stinky (cheese)!

In your heart, talk to Him.  You don’t even need words! God understands images, heartbeats, silence, and also hears you!

About Jesus, it’s said,

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).

As bearing the image of God, Jesus can handle all things cheesy, or not! He dealt with your sins.  Hang in there.

“Everything’s falling apart on me, God; put me together again with your Word.  Festoon me with your finest sayings, God; teach me your holy rules” (Psalms 119:107, 108 MSG).

He left us clear instructions! Read the Bible (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)!  Enter through the Door!

*(song, by AWB, 1974)

God Bless!

Sam

The majority of the 15 roofing companies I contacted to replace my roof wanted to do a “band-aid” type of repair: ignore damages, and roof right over the old roof.  They didn’t want to address the inside issues-too cumbersome.  Replacing the old with the new, would make everything look super-nice while the undersides, look bad.

When Israel awaited the Messiah in Jesus’ day, they expected the same thing.  They wanted outside acknowledgment that a new leader, a promised leader would raise up a revolt against the Romans and thus rescue them from their clutches. Like kids at a game, they wanted to tell their enemies, “Look who’s on our side!”

But God, who weighs our hearts, knew their captivity wasn’t from the outside only.  He knew their oppression came from within. Just as a prisoner can be free on the inside of his soul though behind bars, and a free man bound from within, God sent Jesus to deliver the Israelites from the chains binding their souls.  But they wouldn’t budge. It was too costly. They’d look better on the outside if the surrounding nations could see that their God, Jehovah, had overthrown Rome.

They were so bent on being liberated, that they remained captive to their sinful ways. The religious leaders pretended to uphold the law, but neglected most of it.  They were legalistic, for sure. Nothing could be done out of line, especially, if it was something others could see and report.

Jesus wanted them to see that God Himself was “doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19) among them, but they repeatedly told Him, “You’re wrong, God; you have no idea how we do things here.”

Yet, He was in their midst for years…and they completely missed Him.  They condemned Him long before apprehending, scourging, and crucifying Him.  On a daily basis they snickered at Him-even His very own brothers in the flesh mocked Him (John 7:3-10)!

Are you waiting for God to show up so you can serve Him, but fail to see Him in your midst? Have you missed all the telltale signs? He’s present for sure!  He lives and moves amongst us. He’s a full-line roofer, repairing all the damaged goods beneath the surface, as well as on top.  From the inside, He makes you a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17)-no bandages!    He knows what He’s doing. Others will see the transformation in your life and know He did it.

God less,

Sam

Ever had a bad day? A bad week? Month? Year? Consider a man from scripture, Job (rhymes with robe), whom Satan went personally to God to secure permission to torment. Job had seven sons and three daughters as well as 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 donkeys, and a large number of servants.  He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.   Maybe he had a bit more than you.  But see the account:

“One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped t tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking at the oldest brother’s house when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house.  It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

On top of that, Satan visited God again and gained permission to afflict Job’s body with sores galore.

When I first read this in Dec. 1977, I thought each servant was making up a story.  But it was really happening!  Here’s the scoop.  After being granted permission by God, Satan went straight to work stripping Job of all his possessions and afflicted him hoping he’d curse God to the face. But what did Job do?  He remained faithful.  He immediately worshipped God and acknowledged that He gives and takes away; unlike his wife who told him to curse God and drop dead! What would you do?  It’s not an easy thing.

Life can be dandy but if you serve God, there may come a time when Satan will want to “sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31).

Like Job, don’t deny God.  Worship Him and trust Him.  After all the trials, God restored Job’s losses and health.  He doubled his possessions, except, of course, the number of kids-ten again!  Read the account in the Book of Job; right after the book of Esther.

Count Your Blessings!

Sam

Whether new or worn, holes in pockets will cause small items to fall out. Many people have lost precious items due to this matter. Several years ago, I read of a hired man, a bond agent, called upon to deliver a special dime worth $100,000.00. He placed it in the pocket of his pants and every so often, he’d check his pocket to confirm it was still there-it was! To him, it was nerve-wracking.

Sometimes, our lives can go from finely-pressed pants and dressed attire to holey pants.  We can go from owning/renting a decent home, to living in a car or on the streets. I read of a fairly young man who frequently dined out with his buddies mindlessly dishing out thousands of dollars for scrumptious meals.  And now, having lost it all, he worked at the same restaurant washing dishes for others whose pockets were yet lined with holes.

Maybe a loved one has ditched you, or your entire family has moved out due to holes in your pockets; habits of gambling or irresponsibility. Or maybe you had nothing to do with it. Maybe they have holes in their pockets.   Either way, unawares, sacredness has slipped away.  What they valued most ran down to the ground. Love, so big and strong, has trickled down a small hole; possibly lost forever.

The prophet Haggai (1:6NLT) puts it this way: “You eat but are not satisfied.  You drink but are still thirsty.  You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!” 

You might need a new seamstress or new garments. God can mend hearts and relationships, though I’m not sure about sewing up pockets.

God works best with us when we’re broken.  That’s when we have nowhere to go but down.  And since He’s already gone down to the pits of hell, He knows loneliness and despair.  He understands betrayal and abandonment.  He knows what it’s like to be walked out on. But having conquered Death, He also knows victory!

Come to Him with your heavy heart, your empty, holey pockets and He’ll restore you. He’s waiting for YOU RIGHT NOW. He’s set this day aside just for you!  If you could look at His calendar, you’d see your name is circled today! He’s meeting with you right now!  Don’t pass it up! Like Seals and Croft sang, We May Never Pass This Way Again (1973). This Is It (!) Kenny Loggins, 1979.

You’re worth many times more than that dime!  OK, maybe just a tad more…NAH! Millions of times more! Quick, sew those holes and lose no more.  He’ll change you from holey to Holy.

1 Peter 5:10 “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.”

Sam

“STY-M-E-E-E-E! Wheres you at? Right here where I is.  Well, come over from where you is to where I is!”  That’s what Stymie and his mom sounded like in the original Little Rascals.  Sometimes we want to know where someone else is to meet them there, or vice versa.

God wants to meet you where you’re at right now.  It doesn’t matter if your hair’s combed, if you’re only wearing one shoe, or if your socks don’t match.  It doesn’t matter if your life is picture-perfect, either. On one journey with His disciples, He deemed it necessary to pass through Samaria; a strange request because Samaritans and the Jews didn’t jibe. In His perfect timing, He waited at Jacob’s well for a specific woman in need of His living water.

After asking her for water, He then turned the conversation to His living waters telling her that if she knew who He was, she’d ask Him for His type of water. She told Him to give her of that water so she’d never have to fetch water again. After telling her all He knew about her life, she realized He was the long-awaited Messiah! Leaving behind her waterpot, she dashed off to tell her neighbors about Him (John 4:1-30).

Application: Jesus knew the lady needed water.  He knew her life wasn’t straight.  She had had five husbands…He knew she was thirsty for truth and a better life.  Where’s you at right now? Jesus asks you.  Oh, He knows, but He needs you to say, “Jesus, I’m right here where I is.”  He’ll tell you to come to His place; meaning, “Call unto me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

You don’t need to do anything to impress Him since He knows your life story.  Thirsting for righteousness? Invite Him into your heart. Like the Samaritan woman in this story tell Him, “Sir, give me this water…”  “But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

Receive Living Waters NOW and you too will leave behind your waterpot.  People spend their lifetime drinking from broken fountains in efforts to quench their thirsts for salvation, yet always end up dry because only the Giver of Life can satisfy our thirst.

“For My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2:13 NIV).

Quench your thirst NOW and FOREVER through JESUS!

*Interesting note: there will not be one ounce of water, not even perspiration in hell (Luke 16:24).

Drink It Up!
Sam