Bible

• Holding On    As we continued the work on the our church structures roofs, we had to deal with the 68 year old sanctuary building. The pitch on that roof is 45 degrees. You can't really stand up on it unless all the circumstances are just right. One wrong move and the only thing between you and an 18 foot drop to the ground is the gutter. I am a little heavier than a rain drop!    At first we were able to climb up and down the old shingles using a rope tied off at the peak. Eventually it was time to cover that peak and that meant climbing out on the ridge of the roof. If a person got off to one side or the other, not only would you have that high dive off the roof to contend with, but you would pick up speed on the way to the gutter. The steel roofing we were putting on was like the slickest playground slide you've ever tried.    Simply put, keeping your balance and holding on were essential to a safe outcome. Ignore those things and you were in trouble fast.    Paul's exhortation to the Thessalonians was to "stand firm and hold..." (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Balance and holding to truth are essential for Christian maturity and growth.  We joked on the roof about having our finger prints IN the steel roofing in some places. That is the kind of grip God wants you to have on the truth. Hold on tightly to the truth. The Bible says God's Word is Truth and if you know the Truth, it will set you free. Ask the Lord to alert you!

• Know-It-All    There are few people who would ever say that they know everything. But as a parent I hold to the little tongue in cheek, "Ask your teenager now, while he still knows everything." There is something about that age. Teens have a feeling of indestructibility and think they have learned so much at school that they have also sucked in a lot of wisdom.    Even our 5 year old, Benjamin has started to slip into the teenage years. Recently when his mother queried him about some statement he made, he answered matter-of-factly, "Mom, I know everything!"    Well, as sharp as Ben is he certainly hasn't displayed that he knows everything. Maybe we will be surprised when he turns 13!    In 1 Thessalonians 5:1 Paul acknowledges that the Thessalonians do indeed have a grasp of knowledge about "times and epochs" and the coming "day of the Lord." But Paul didn't leave them thinking they knew everything. He exhorted them not "sleep as others do, but let us keep alert and sober" (v. 6).    We have a responsibility to stay spiritually alert and prepared. Each of us needs regular input from the Word of God and those whom Jesus Christ has assigned as leaders in the church. We need communion with the Lord through prayer. Are you alert today trying to learn more? Don't think you know it all. Follow Paul's exhortations.

• Sifting Rocks    Our 16 year old son David is a gutsy guy when it comes to trying new things. I'm sure he will be hard to buy life insurance for someday when he's older! The other day he was taking his life in his own hands when his mother discovered him sifting some larger pebbles out of some sand with her crank flour sifter. He needed some clean sand for his hacky-sack ball!    David did survive the ordeal and fortunately for him, the sifter seems to be unharmed. But it could have been severely damaged. It wasn't made to handle that type of abrasiveness.    How many things do we allow to come into our lives that we are not equipped to handle? Think about the words of Paul in Ephesians 5. He says we are to be imitators of God like children. We are not to be caught up in the things of darkness, but instead even expose them, "for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret." (Ephesians 5:12). James writes of keeping ourselves unstained by the world (James 1:27).    Someone has said, 'If you play with fire, you are going to be burned!' If you try to filter life's "rocks" with your body and soul, you will be scarred. It is far better to stay away from the rocks & junk of this world.    Learn the Word and listen to the Spirit in your life to avoid the rocks. Even your mother will be thankful for that!

• Exploded Pop    One hot and uncomfortable day I was craving a round of my favorite soft drink. None was cold, so I pulled a little trick I have used numerous times before. I stuck the plastic bottle in the spare refrigerator freezer! Now, this idea works fairly well as long as you don't have a problem with remembering that you put in it in the freezer. That day, I had that problem!    Actually, it was as couple of days later when I opened the freezer to put something else in and discovered my new artwork. Before all the soda pop on the top had frozen, a fissure had erupted sending a geyser of diet liquid to the top of the unit as well as all around. There were soda pop stalactites and stalagmites decorating the inside of an otherwise clean and frost-free environment! It was and it wasn't a pretty sight!    The problem of things being out of sight and out of mind became graphically evident.    The Psalmist says, the Word of God "is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path..." (Psalm 119:105) It shines in the dark places of my heart and reminds me of what I need to know. If you and I don't make it a major part of our lives, a lot of potentially erupting things can go unnoticed. Then, one day, there's fizzing overflow and it isn't pretty!    Make daily Scripture reading a part of your routine. You might pray: "Apply Your Word to my heart, O God!"

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