My Ongoing Thoughts

THE FRUIT OF ONE’S LABOR

5/14/2022

The Bible tells us that, after having raised his family, built an ark, gathered the world’s animals, and survived the flood, Noah settled down in his old age and planted himself a vineyard. In like fashion, I have now been busy in my semi-retirement doing what I was always too busy, yet always longing, to do: tilling the soil.

Now, to be clear, I have no intentions of either going into the wine-making business or getting plastered with the fruits of my labor, as did Noah. But I have now planted myself some muscadine and scuppernong vines. In my childhood, the former grew wild all along the dirt road on which we lived. And my uncle Roy had a grape arbor absolutely loaded with the latter up at his house. Needless to say, I loved visiting him when they were in season.

I have also now planted an orchard with just about every variety of fruit that will grow in agricultural zone seven, in which my wife and I live. These include several varieties of apples, peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, kiwis, cherries, quinces, crabapples, figs, and pomegranates. When June rolls around, I hope to add some blackberry vines to the lot as well.

Thanks to the efforts of my grandparents (both paternal and maternal), along with those of my various uncles and aunts, at one time or another, I crossed paths with most of these fruit species in my childhood. These days, my theory is that I owe it to my seven grandsons to give them the same memories. After all, eating one’s belly full of apples to the point of nausea as a child is a rite of passage – one I went through and one I intend to see them go through as well!

For this reason, it was a particular joy for me to be assisted by several of my grandsons as I planted the last of these trees this very evening.* Should the Lord tarry His coming, and assuming everything unfolds according to the usual pattern of nature, there will surely come a day when I will be in Heaven and my grandsons will literally be enjoying the fruits of my labor. When it does, the mere knowledge of this fact will very likely only add to my eternal joy!

Besides, when that day comes, I will be consuming fruit of another kind. As the New Testament Book of Revelation tells us (in chapter 22, verses 1-2):

“Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

In short, while my grandsons are enjoying the fruits of my labor here on earth, I plan to be enjoying the fruits of Christ’s labor up in Heaven! In due time, of course, I trust they will join me. And I trust the same for you.

*NOTE: Getting my orchard planted has taken quite some time. But at least I have finally met my goals. See my earlier blog posts titled “ALL IN ONE” dated 10/11/2021 and “BEARING FRUIT” dated 03/03/2022.

SCRIPTURES:

https://biblehub.com/bsb/genesis/9.htm;

https://biblehub.com/bsb/revelation/22.htm.

HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW…

5/10/2022

What do a skunk, an opossum, and a groundhog all have in common? Apparently, none of them can successfully duplicate the feat of the humble chicken by merely crossing the road successfully!

While out walking one morning late last week, I first came upon a flock of buzzards busily consuming the earthly remains of a dead skunk. It was obvious that the hapless creature had met his demise under the wheel of some automobile the night before. By the time I arrived on the scene, little was left of this poor animal; and I mused on his unfortunate fate as I walked along.

Barely a half of a mile later on in my journey, I came upon the remains of an opossum who had clearly suffered a similar fate the previous evening. Its poor carcass had been virtually turned inside out; although I do not know if this had been caused by the force with which it had been hit or by some scavenging animal in the meantime. I puzzled over this too as I kept on walking.

Shortly thereafter, I crested the small ridge where I had repeatedly seen a groundhog as of late. His habit was to occupy the low point in the road, were he easily passed back and forth using a small culvert underneath the road designed for the runoff of rain water into a nearby creek.

As I topped the little hill, I was saddened to see that, for whatever reason, the poor little fellow had apparently chosen to attempt an aboveground crossing of the road just as some other automobile had passed by in the wee hours of the early morning. While he was clearly dead, he had not been that way for long.

Perhaps it was because I had encountered this last animal so often before, and therefore felt as if I had begun to develop some sort of rapport with him, that his death struck me more significantly than had the death of either of the previous two animals. I was truly sad.

I walked on down to the lake before setting out on my return trip home. In the thirty or so minutes of time this took me, the vultures managed to find the downed groundhog. By the time I got back to the spot, they had not only been disemboweled him, but had also literally dismembered him as well. Nor were they happy as they retreated to the trees above, impatiently awaiting my passing before they could resume their repast.

Now, at this point, reading all of this may well have left you disturbed or even disgusted. But I have only related what I encountered that morning, along with the impact it all had on me at the time. Of course, if you have stayed with me this long, then I hope you will read a little further and reflect on what I eventually concluded from the morning’s events.

While I like to hunt and fish, I am no sadist. Animals are sentient creatures that live out their lives, and in so doing, fulfill the purpose for which God created them. It is always somewhat sad, therefore, to see one of them die prematurely in an accidental encounter with an automobile. What is more, this is only magnified when it happens three times in one night, especially when that all happens on the same short stretch of road.

Of course, whether you are troubled by any of this or not, it does, at the very least, speak to how fleeting life is. Twelve hours before my morning walk, three of God’s creatures walked this earth. By twelve hours after my morning walk, each no longer did. If that is not a sobering reminder of the brevity of life, then I do not know what is.

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. For this reason, it behooves each of us to make the utmost of each and every day!

Perhaps this is akin to what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he told the Ephesians (in chapter 5, verses 15- 16 of his New Testament Epistle addressed to them) to… “pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

It bears repeating here how the Amplified Version translates these verses:

“Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.”

How right Paul was! What is more, how right we will each be to follow his admonition! Given that the world is full of evil, and that we do not know what tomorrow holds, it behooves each of us to recognize this and to take advantage of every opportunity, living life to the full as we exult in each single moment of God-given life!

One day, my time on earth will come to an end. Yours will too. Until then, make we each live life to the full!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/ephesians/5-16.htm;

https://biblehub.com/amp/ephesians/5.htm.

A REFLECTION OF GOD’S LOVE

5/6/2022

It has been said that there is no greater illustration in this world of the love God has for us than that of the love a mother has for her children. Given that assertion, with which I happen to agree, I thought I would share the following piece for Mother’s Day weekend. It is titled “THE SELF-GIVING MOTHER”, and reads as follows…

About 6:00 A.M. on a Wednesday morning, James Lawson of Running Springs, California (in the San Bernardino Mountains) left home to apply for a job. About an hour later, his thirty-six-year-old wife Patsy left for her fifth grade teaching job down the mountain in Riverside - accompanied by her two children, five-year-old Susan and two-year-old Gerald - to be dropped off at the baby-sitter’s.

Unfortunately, they never got that far. Eight and a half hours later, the man found his wife and daughter dead in their wrecked car, upside down in a cold mountain stream. His two-year-old son was just barely alive in the forty-eight-degree water. But in that death, the character of a mother was revealed in a most dramatic and heart-rending way.

For when the father scrambled down the cliff to what he was sure were the cries of his dying wife, he found her locked in death, holding her little boy’s head just above water in the submerged car.

For eight and a half hours, Patsy Lawson had held her beloved toddler afloat, and had finally died, her body almost frozen in death in that position of self-giving love, holding her baby up to breathe. She died that another might live. That’s the essence of a mother’s love.

Indeed it is! And as such, it is a reflection of the self-giving and sacrificial love that our God has for us! For He, too, gave His life in order that we might live!

This mother’s Day, I am thankful for a mother who loved me enough to sacrifice on my behalf. While she was never actually called upon to lay down her life for me, she did sacrifice in so many ways that I might be the better for it.

As I write this, she is now in Heaven. I know she is there because trust she placed her trust in Jesus Christ, Who did lay down His life, for her, and for me, and for all people in all times and all places. And like her, all who will receive Him as personal Lord and Savior will enjoy their eternal reward in that wonderful place as well.

STORY SOURCE: James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 1988, p. 375.

A HAIR-ROWING EXPERIENCE!

5/2/2022

The peace was shattered at approximately 5:17 pm this afternoon. I had just returned from having gone out walking; and discovered that my daughter had come over with her three small sons. These three were then joined by a fourth grandson who had come over from my son’s house next door.

I had just set about hurriedly completing a project or two in order that I could go spend time with them when I heard one of them begin to sound off. Soon enough, he was crying to beat the band!

I did not know which one it was, as he was somewhere on the other side of the house; but with each passing moment, the fit he was pitching grew louder and louder. I sensed something must be wrong. However, from the sound of things, the cries he was emitting were more akin to anger than to either pain or fear.

I also knew that our daughter was with them; and thus, if something was seriously wrong, we would know it soon enough. Nevertheless, as the noise was not abating, my wife, who was with me at the time, decided that she needed to go investigate.

After another few minutes, just as I was finishing up my projects, the crying finally ceased. It was then that I met my wife making her way back around the house and grinning from ear to ear.

“Is everything okay?” I asked. “It is now!” she replied, laughing out loud. “What was wrong?” I inquired. “It wasn’t any of the four grandsons in our yard. It was the smallest one next door. You’ll be happy to know that your youngest grandson just got his first ever haircut!”

I have to confess that I got tickled! I thought about all those times as a small lad when my dad took me to Ol’ Man Charlie Boyd for a haircut. I remembered how the latter would put me up in the barber chair and place a cloak over me before he turned on those horrendous clippers. To this day, I can recall how he would grab my chin and hold it in a vice-like grip in order to keep my little head still as he sheared off my curly locks.

I also remember the hum of those dreaded clippers and the cold feeling they had as he ran them back and forth over my head. I’m sure the whole process only took a few minutes; but to me at the time, it seemed like an eternity. I do not recall if I protested or not. But I do know that it was never an enjoyable experience; and I dreaded it as I did few other recurring rituals in life.

After I discovered what my youngest grandson had gone through, I went to check on him. I found him sitting at the supper table happily engaged in the consumption of an assortment of baby foods. By that time, the earlier ordeal, as terrible as it had been, had clearly passed; and he had moved on to more familiar and enjoyable activities.

At just one year of age, I do not know if he was fully aware of what all he had just endured or not. But for all his trouble, he was none the worse for the wear! As it was, I spent a few moments interacting with him, watching his newly shorn head continuously bob about as he grinned and even chuckled while I picked at him. When I left, he was all smiles as he headed off in the arms of his mother for the familiar confines of the bathtub and an enjoyable nightly ritual.

As I made my way back home, I could not help but think of what the writer of the New Testament Book of Hebrews (in chapter 12, verses 10-11) was moved to pen so long ago…

“Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.”

It was my grown son who, along with his wife, gave their son (and my grandson) his first ever haircut this afternoon. Needless to say, the whole process was more than a tad painful for the little tyke. But it was ultimately beneficial for him as well! His father had only put him through the whole ordeal for his own good.

Indeed, decades before, I had done the very same thing for his father (and my son), when he was that age, just as my own father had done for me even earlier.

In each case, the truth of Scripture was born out as an earthly father disciplined his son for a short period of time in order to produce something good and positive in his life. What is more, in each case, one can see a reflection of how our Heavenly Father deals with us.

You see, in His divine love for us, our God wants what is best for us. For this reason, from time to time, He disciplines us by putting us through some unpleasant experience. But in the end, it invariably works out for our good. We come away from the experience none the worse for wear. Better yet, we come away improved in some fashion. We then experience some harvest of either righteousness and/or peace as a result!

What about you? Are you currently going through some trial that seems difficult at best or terrible at worst? Then remember the words of the Apostle James, who was moved by the Holy Spirit (in chapter 1, verses 2-4 of his eponymous New Testament Letter) to write:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

In my esteemed opinion, my little grandson is even more handsome now than he was at about 5:16 pm this afternoon! This is all because he underwent a somewhat unpleasant ordeal in the meantime.

In a similar fashion, no matter what sort of harrowing experience I may personally wind up having to face tomorrow, I pray that, at the end of the day, I will merely wind up looking a little more pleasing in the eyes of my Heavenly Father as a result!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://www.biblehub.com/hebrews/12-11.htm;

https://biblehub.com/niv/james/1.htm.

GOIN’ GREEN?

4/28/2022

While out walking this week, I came across a row of three Angus calves sticking their necks as far as they could through a barbed wire fence in an attempt to reach as much of the green grass growing in the roadside ditch as possible.

They are not alone. All along the edge of the field where they are pastured, the ground is trodden free of growth as the herd of cows to which they belong constantly traverses the fence looking for bits of luscious grass just beyond the fence.

I mused on this scene as I walked on. At the top of the hill, I came to the corner of the pasture, where the owner has cordoned off a section about twenty feet square. It can only be accessed via a barrier that is just wide enough to allow the entrance of calves but not adult cows. Inside, containers hold specialized feed loaded with nutrients that are designed to supplement the diet and boost the growth of the younger animals.

And yet, who was there sticking their necks as far as they possibly could in a vain attempt to reach the alluring feed inside? You guessed it. Several older calves and adult cows who longed desperately to access the tempting feed inside the enclosure.

I pondered this as I continued my walk. Shortly down the road, I came across a sire in the adjoining pasture. This massive bull, in the prime of his life, was standing at the edge of the fence looking longingly across the road to yet another pasture full of cows. More than looking, he was bellowing.

It apparently did not matter to him that he already had what amounts to a small harem of his own right there in the pasture with him. He already ruled over a small herd of at least twenty cows, none of which were more than a stone’s throw from him at the time. What he clearly wanted was what was in the pasture on the other side of the fence.

As I continued along, I found myself noting the commonality of all three observances. In each and every case, the parties involved were not satisfied with what they had been given. Instead, their appetites drove them to long for what they could not rightfully have.

There seems to be no better metaphor to apply here than that of the proverbial grass being greener on the other side of the fence! For in all I observed, this was true both literally and figuratively.

Cattle are not alone in this desire. We humans also tend to be ignore what we have been given in favor what we have not been given. All too often, we find ourselves looking for greener pastures. The question is why! What is it that makes us want what is not rightfully ours?

The best answer I know of is found in Genesis chapter 3. Here we read where Adam and Eve chose not to be satisfied with all they had in the garden and to partake instead of the fruit of the one tree they had been forbidden to consume. At that point, sin entered the world.

Ever since that point, we have all struggled with wanting what we cannot have. As we do, at the least, we look longingly over the fence. And at the worst, we jump the fence and partake!

To those reading this who may even now be standing at the fence and looking longingly over at greener pastures, I would offer a thought or two. To begin with, if the grass looks greener on the other side, remember the admonition of Erma Bombeck who once famously reminded us that the grass is always greener over the septic tank!

In case it is not obvious enough already, the point here is that the what looks like an ideal situation beyond the fence, where greener grass appears to be growing, may well be a case where there are “underlying” issues! Jump that fence and dig a little deeper and you may well have regrets!

Second, once you jump that fence, and partake of the vaunted green grass you so desperately sought, be prepared for that moment (which will certainly come) when you look back at the pasture you left behind and long to return to where you had it made to begin with! Simply put, the grass may well begin to look greener back where you came from!

Jerry Lee Lewis was the first, but not the last artist, to remind us that we can reach the point where we find ourselves longing for the green, green grass of home. As he put it:

“The old home town looks the same
As I step down from the train,
And there to meet me is my Mama and Papa.

Down the road I look and there runs Mary,
Hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.

Yes, they'll all come to meet me,
Arms reaching, smiling sweetly.
It's good to touch the green, green, grass of home.

The old house is still standing,
Though the paint is cracked and dry,
And there's that old oak tree that I used to play on.

Down the lane I walk with my sweet Mary,
Hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.

Then I awake and look around me
At four grey walls that surround me,
And I realize: yes, I was only dreaming.

For there's a guard and there's a sad old padre.
On and on, we'll walk at daybreak.
Again I'll touch the green, green grass of home.

Yes, they'll all come to see me
In the shade of that old oak tree
As they lay me ‘neath the green, green grass of home.”

I quoted this song here in its entirety precisely because of how it ends! Sadly, far too many people have gone so far beyond the fence chasing greener pastures that they have risked not ever being able to go back!

Don’t make that mistake! Instead, learn to follow the admonition of the Apostle Paul, who once testified: “In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content … I am able to do all this through Him who strengthens me.”

With Christ, all things are indeed possible. And this definitely includes the ability to be satisfied with everything God has given you!

SOURCES:

SONG LYRICS:
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tomjones/greengreengrassofhome.html.

SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/nasb_/philippians/4.htm.

FEELING THE HEAT!

4/24/2022

For me, one of the frustrations of aging is my having to deal with what Solomon once termed “the little foxes that spoil the vine” when the vineyard is in “full bloom”. The so-called “little foxes” range from feeling aches and pains in places they had not been felt before to decreasing strength and more fatigue.

Let’s just say that I am developing a whole new appreciation for the things my forebears faced before me. And I see now, that in this regard, as the prophet once affirmed, “I am no better than my ancestors.”

But long before I ever faced any of this, back in my forties, I notices a slight decline in my hearing and seeing. The hearing issues no doubt relate to my farming background and the daily proximity to loud machinery I experienced as a child. I have largely learned to live with this. But, nowadays, just to be sure I don't exacerbate the situation, I always wear protective gear when out mowing, etc…

With regard to my eyesight, I first noticed the inability to focus while deer-hunting. At the time, I had no problem seeing off in the distance. But whenever I would glance down at my watch, things would be slightly blurry. The eye doctor gave me a thorough examination, and as a result, told me that my eyes were fine, but that my arms were too short!

Seriously, he said my problem was a universal one in that the more we age, the longer it takes the muscles of our eyes to refocus when shifting from looking off in the distance to looking at something up close. He gave me a prescription for “reading glasses”, which largely solved my problem. Ever since that day, I have worn glasses in order to see things close by.

Now a good pair of glasses is like a good spouse. You become married to them, as it were. So much so that they almost become an extension of who you are, and you literally find yourself lost without them! That is why I long ago swallowed my pride and bought a small chain to attach to my glasses. I keep them around my neck most all the time.

I have also learned that I should not take them for granted, less they fall into disrepair. In short, they need regular attention to keep them in good working order. All of this leads me to the point of my post today…

On more than one occasion as of late, when looking down, my glasses slipped off and fell down. Had it not been for the chain, they would have fallen to the ground. Naturally, on each occasion, I tried bending my glasses inward so as to make them tighter on my head. I assumed each time that I had fixed the problem; but I soon discovered that little had changed. The process only repeated itself with alarming frequency.

For this reason, the next time I found myself near the store where I had purchased my glasses, I stopped in, explained my problem, and asked if they could be repaired. The lady was very helpful. She took my glasses and stepped to her work bench. I noticed that she bent the glasses exactly as I had done with one tiny exception. Just before she made each bend, she briefly placed that portion of my glasses beneath some small contraption.

When she returned them to me, my glasses were noticeably tighter. They were also straighter on my face. In fact, they seemed to be back where they had been when I had first acquired them. They fit perfectly once again.

Needless to say, I was Impressed. But I was also puzzled as to why she was able to bend them back to where they belonged and to make them stay. So I inquired as to how she had managed this. Clearly, whatever gadget she had held them near or under had affected the change. She soon affirmed my suspicions, telling me that the device was a small but powerful heater.

It seems my glasses are made of something called memory metal. As such, they are designed to flex and bend, yet return to their intended shape afterward. Over time, however, they can still get a little stretched out of shape, and become loose-fitting as a result. When they do, no amount of bending them back into shape, however well-intentioned it may be, will fix the problem.

To truly correct the problem, the metal must be heated before it is bent. When this happens the bending of the metal takes, and the result is a new shape for to which the memory metal will then adhere.

Who knew?! The best way to affect change is to just to apply a little heat! Without it, little change can be expected; but with it, change – true change, change that is genuine and lasting – can be achieved.

I walked away from this episode reflecting on how this simple principle may well have meaning, not only for eyeglass repair, but for others things in life as well. After all, all it really took to correct my repeated misbehaviors as a child was a little heat applied by my parents to the appropriate spot!

Likewise, in school, about all it took to correct my bad study habits was the heat of a bad report card. And as a teenager, on more than one occasion, my bad driving behavior was quickly brought into check by feeling the heat of a ticket and all that involved.

In fact, as I look back overly life, I find that I have repeatedly felt the heat, as it were, from undergoing the process of correction. In my health, in my thinking, in my personal life, in my professional life, and in most every other way I can think of, having felt a little heat from time to time has been actually been in my best interest.

Of course, this has also been true in my spiritual life as well. Sure, as the old saying goes, playing with fire can get one burnt! And once burnt, twice shy! But thank God for the fact that He has always been willing to apply the heat, so to speak. At just the right time, in just the right amount, and for just the right reason, God in His wisdom knows how to turn on the heat we need to feel!

In Revelation 3:19, our Lord tells us: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.” This basic truth is repeatedly affirmed throughout all of Scripture.

In the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 8:5 states: “So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.” Later, in Proverbs 3:12, we read: “For the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.”

In the New Testament, in Hebrews 12:6, we find a similar reminder: “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves; and He chastises every son He receives." And in 1 Corinthians 11:32, we are given insight into why this happens: “But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.” Thus, it is ultimately for our own good that we find ourselves occasionally feeling some form of Heavenly heat!

What about you, my friend? Are you at a time and place in your life when, as Glen Frey once put it, “The heat is on!”? Then rejoice and be glad! For just like with my glasses, you maker has provided you with wonderful memory. And right now, here is what He wants you to remember. The mere fact that God is applying the heat right now only means that no matter how far out of line you may have gotten, He still loves you, and ultimately wants what is in your best interest!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/songs/2-15.htm;

https://biblehub.com/1_kings/19-4.htm;

https://www.biblehub.com/revelation/3-19.htm. Note: The related scripture verses cited above can be found in the adjacent right hand column.

BURDEN OF PROOF

4/19/2022

A couple of years ago, I suddenly found myself with two pick-up trucks. The Ford F-150 I owned had a king cab and was loaded with all the bells and whistles. I’m talking electronic everything, including automatic four-wheel drive, individual seat HVAC, and XM Satellite Stereo, not to mention leather interior and computerization untold.

As such, it was excellent for riding on long trips, especially up and down the expressway. But with a bed of a mere 5 feet, it was absolutely abysmal for hauling things!

By contrast, about this time, my father-in-law gave me his 20 year old F-150, which was a single cab with absolutely zero frills. Everything it had was manual, including its window cranks and door locks, along with the world’s most basic AM/FM radio.

But it also had an 8 foot bed. And when the tailgate was down, it stretched out 2 more feet, to a full 10 feet! Translation: you can haul absolutely anything in that rascal!

Long story short… it did not take me long at all to realize that the truck I really needed to part with was my own luxury show truck. And the one I really needed to keep was the other one given to me by my father-in-law – the 20 year old basic one designed, not for show, but purely for work!

Later on, I heard the story of when and how my father-in-law had first bought that truck. He had gone to the local Ford dealership and told them he was there to buy a truck. He was prepared to pay cash; but he wanted nothing fancy, and with no extras. All he wanted was a truck that would carry a load, and would not quit! It seems he got just what he bargained for. (To his credit, he cared far less about his truck’s level of comfort, and far more about its level of productivity!)

Not surprisingly, these days, I no longer drive a late model “Platinum” F-150. Instead, I now drive a 22 year old basic work truck. And I do so proudly and confidently as I literally haul any and every thing I have need to haul. (In short, I too now care far less about my truck’s level of comfort, and far more about my truck’s level of productivity.)

However, I have recently come to understand that my newfound 20 year old F-150 truck does has one basic shortcoming. Particularly when it is raining, but even when it is not, it literally begs to carry a load. Why do I say this? Because, with such a long wheel base, whenever it finds itself without a sufficient load to carry, it will actually tend to spin its back wheels for lack of traction. You see, it literally needs to bear a burden, as the extra weight helps its rear wheels to "obtain purchase" and move it forward. If not, it will invariably fail to perform as well as it was designed!

I share this as a word of encouragement for those of you currently carrying some form of burden or burdens. No doubt that includes each and every reader of this blog post. After all, whether we like it or not, burdens are a part of life. Let’s face it, more often than we prefer, we all find ourselves loaded down with the unwanted weight of some heavy, and often difficult, load that we are forced to bear.

Can you relate? If you are honest, I believe you will say yes. For burden-bearing is simply a part of life.

But maybe that is okay. Maybe, just maybe, a little bearing a burden helps to give us traction in life. And maybe, just maybe, we actually perform a little better when we are forced to carry a load in life!

As I look back over my life, I can recall many a load I have been forced to carry. Some were for short periods; while others were of lengthy duration. Either way, at the time, I found no joy in the task.

But nowadays, upon reflection, I can see that I was far better served for having born the burden than not. For ironically, it may well have been that whatever burden or burdens I happened to have been bearing at the time may just have been what kept me grounded. It was also very likely what kept me going forward and resulted in my making progress!

For these reasons, I find myself increasingly thanking God for all such burdens. No doubt, each one was ultimately for my benefit and His glory. In every case, He did for me as He did for Isaiah of old, who testified (in chapter 40, verse 29): “He gave strength to me, the weary, and increased the power for me, the weak.”

And as I managed to bear each successive burden, I came to appreciate and value the affirmation of the Apostle Paul, who famously told the Philippians (in chapter 4, verse 13) of his New Testament Letter addressed to them: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

And so, my friend, no matter what burden (or burdens) you are currently carrying in your life, I encourage you to find some way to be thankful for it (or them). And if it (or they) seem(s) a bit too big to carry, then simply put your trust in God. Remember what He promised us through the Psalmist (in chapter 55, verse 22) when He said: “Turn your burdens over to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will never let the righteous person stumble.”

If you do this, He will surely prove Himself true! And once He does, you will have yet another burden – the burden of proof!

SCRIPTURES:

https://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-29.htm;

https://biblehub.com/philippians/4-13.htm;

https://biblehub.com/psalms/55-22.htm.

FEAR NOT!

4/15/2022

Not far from where my wife and I live, a professional arborist owns and operates a full-service tree company. For those unfamiliar with the term, in days gone by, an arborist might have been called a tree surgeon. But this latter term implies merely pruning and/or tree and debris removal.

While an arborist certainly does these things, he also does much more, including lightning protection, cabling and support for larger trees that stand alone, disease and insect identification and treatment, aeration and root excavation, and planting and establishment.

That being said, periodically, my daily walk takes me by his place of business, which consumes more than seventeen acres altogether. Here, in addition to various structures and places for equipment storage and parking, he also has large tracts set aside for storing tree-cutting debris.

At the end of each day, when his trucks come back in, they are generally loaded with the residue of a hard day’s work. Upon arrival, large crane-type appendages are used to offload the remains of tree trunks, limbs, branches, and the like. These are then placed atop piles of previously accumulated detritus that usually climb to a height of around fifteen to twenty feet. These successive piles wind up in rows that can easily run twenty feet across and over a hundred yards long.

But they are not destined to remain there long. On a regular basis, equipment is brought in that then pulverizes these piles of tree remains into wood chips. In turn, this pulp is collected in mounds and stored until it is loaded and taken to places where it can be processed for lumber, wood products, etc…

All in all, it’s a pretty good system – one that benefits the customer, the arborist, his employees, and yes, even the environment. And looking at the amount of wood he processes, as well as the level of business he undertakes, both the man and his employees obviously do very good work!

In fact, from all appearances, only one single entity appears to find the whole enterprise objectionable. And just who is that? Very likely it is the group of large trees situated on neighboring property adjacent to that of the arborist that happens to tower over and look down upon the disconcerting scene described above.

(Now, I personally do not know if plants are sentient are not. There are, of course, people who talk to their houseplants and/or gardens, etc…, hoping to induce them to grow and be fruitful. The closest I have ever come to this is fussing at my lawn for its growing entirely too quickly and needing to be cut entirely too often. But I digress.)

Now, if trees can be said to feel and see and hear and perhaps even to think, then these trees must surely look down on what all is unfolding beneath them with some degree of distress. And if such were to be the case, is it not reasonable to assume that they might worry over whether this might be their own ultimate ending?

Is it their destiny one day to be struck down and wind up on this (or some similar) debris pile awaiting inevitable annihilation in the hardened steel teeth of some diesel driven chipper? One has to wonder if they have any inkling of their own impending demise!

To make all of this relevant, the French are said to have a saying: “It is the fate of all glass to be broken!” If this is so, then it is surely the fate of all trees, no matter how tall and/or majestic they may be, to fall. And when they eventually do come down, either mankind or nature herself will surely be there to process their remains into oblivion.

All glass eventually breaks; all trees eventually fall down; and yes, all men and women eventually die. Like everything else in this world that draws breath, that is our fate! But alone among God's creatures, we face more than mere physical death. As the Bible says (in the New Testament Book of Hebrews, chapter 9, verse 27): “… it is appointed for men once to die, and after this to face judgment…”

How true this verse is! We all know our earthly life will one day come to an end. This is inevitable; as is some manner of afterlife. Biblically, after death, we will all face the judgement of God. And from there, we will spend eternity either in Heaven or in Hell.

And all of this brings me to my point. As I post this, it is Good Friday. This is the day on which believers commemorate the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. While completely innocent Himself, Jesus nonetheless chose to die on the cross as a propitiation for the sins of men and women in every time and place in all of history. In so doing, He literally paid the price for our sins.

Therefore, as Billy Graham once put it, our sins will not send us to Hell. Jesus dealt with our sins. What determines our eternal destiny, therefore, is what we do with Jesus Christ. Will we, as individuals, accept His sacrifice on our behalf and submit to Him as Lord and Savior? Or will we reject His gracious offer of salvation?

Easter shows us that Jesus proved that He is exactly Who He claimed to be. As the Son of God, He overcame death, the grave, and even Hell itself. And because of this, we do not have to fear our own death! Nor do we have to fear our eternal destiny! We can be confident that when our time in this world comes to an end, we will find life afresh and life anew in yet another and far better world – one where we will have nothing whatsoever to fear.

For there, in that world, we will never again be destined to die! There, in that world, we will live forever in God’s presence. There, in that world, we will be made full and majestic and perfect as we finally embody all the glory God intends for us! There, in that world, we will stand tall for all eternity! And there, in that world, we will never have need or have opportunity to ponder any other destiny!

Amen!

SOURCES: The conscientious arborist I am referring to is Mr. Ben Hazel at Prees Trees. Cf.: https://preestrees.com/.

SCRIPTURE: https://biblehub.com/hebrews/9-27.htm.

NOTE: My post title, "Fear Not!", is the phrase most often associated with the angel's announcement to the shepherds at Jesus' birth as recorded in Luke chapter 2, and celebrated at Christmas. What happens at Easter, however, only serves to confirm the veracity of that angelic pronouncement!

SCARS APLENTY!

4/11/2022

As I have referenced in several recent posts, between the last week of February and the first week of April, we have undergone a period of about six weeks of unusually strong winds here in east Tennessee.

The most recent of these wind storms occurred about a week ago, resulting in the loss of a significant portion of the tin on two my neighbor’s barns. The crumpled up sheets of tin are still lying where the winds deposited them after having ripped them off his barns. Once the insurance adjusters finish their work, the roofs will most certainly be replaced.

No doubt it was due to having these images in my head that, later in my walk, I took notice of the roofs of another pair of barns down the road on an adjacent farm. I noticed something about them that I have never noticed before, even though I had been by them hundreds of times.

What caught my attention was that they too had obviously suffered similar roof damage in some previous wind storm. The tell-tale signs of this were evident in the fact that the leading edges of tin on the southwestern side of both barns had clearly been replaced at some point in the past. I could see this because the replacement sheets of tin on the edge were far less rusted than the interior sheets.

Voilà! I suddenly realized that what I was looking at on the edges of these venerable old structures was a set of scars – scars that were clearly the result of having stood so long against the inevitable storms of life!

I wanted to race back down the road and shout to the two barns so recently ravaged by storms that they were not alone. Others had been through the same thing. Sure, they were scarred from that day forward; but the important thing is that they had survived!
And these two barns, though right now so heavily damaged, would surely survive this experience as well. Would they bear the scars of their ordeal? Yes, but those scars would only serve to give them character. Equally as important, their newfound scars would one day serve as testimony to their personal resilience.

Does this have application to you and me? For my part, I believe it does.

Elbert Hubbard was an American philosopher who was fondly quoted by previous generations of Americans. Among his witticisms were the following gems:

“Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing; and you'll never be criticized.”

“Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out of it alive.”

“Graveyards everywhere are full of indispensable men.”

But my all-time favorite Hubbard quote is one having less to do with life in this world and more to do with life in the next. He once wrote: “God will not look you over for medals, diplomas, or degrees – but for scars.”

It was this very phrase that came to mind as I made my way back home following my morning’s epiphany. It has remained on my mind for much of this past week.

God has blessed me with many a diploma and degree, and even a medal or two. For these things, I have always been thankful. But the older I get, the more I am coming to understand and even to appreciate the other set of blessings He gave to me: my scars!

No Pastor can get through 40 plus years of ministry without acquiring a full set of scars. I am no different. But it is only as I have retired from full-time ministry that I have come to value those scars. Every one of them bespeaks some battle, whether personal or public, that I undertook in a genuine attempt to stand strong against adversity. And for this reason, each and every one of those scars now has great value.

Perhaps this is precisely what our Lord had in mind when He made such statements as this (in Matthew 5:11-12): “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”

I will admit that, in times past, I failed to fully appreciate these words. But now I see things differently. Before, I might have even sought to gloss over or even cover scars I received in such struggles. But these days, I choose to display them a little more prominently. And while I might stop short of saying that I am proud of them, I am certainly not ashamed of them. They testify to my struggle for my Lord, His will, and His Kingdom. And even if no one else recognizes this, He certainly does!

SOURCES:

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/elbert-hubbard-quotes;

https://www.azquotes.com/author/6978-Elbert_Hubbard.

SCRIPTURE:

https://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/5.htm.

TOUGH TURKEY!

4/7/2022

As one who loves to hunt and fish, I am right at home here in east Tennessee. My grandfather came of age during the great depression when folks hereabouts literally depended upon wild game for food. Sadly, this meant that by the time my father came along, much of the bigger game species had been completely hunted out.

Fortunately, deer, turkey, and similar big game species were reintroduced in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Thereafter, as a result of well-managed hunting seasons, hunter education programs, and similar practices, their numbers have steadily increased over the last three quarters of a century.

For these reasons, by the late 1970s, I was able to take up hunting and fishing in my late teens. Thereafter, I was also able to raise my sons to enjoy these activities. Best of all, I now have the opportunity to help raise my grandsons to enjoy the great outdoors in a responsible manner as well. Besides, as the bumper sticker aptly puts it, “Boys who like to hunt and fish don’t grow up to mug old ladies!”

As I write this, it is turkey season here in Tennessee. Accordingly, my youngest son is currently on a mission to harvest a prime strutting Tom. Early one morning this past week, he and his wife’s cousin recently went down to his wife’s grandfather’s farm for this very purpose.

Once on site, they set up, put out a “Jake” decoy, and began calling. In short order, off in the distance, a gobbler sounded off. Excited, they continued to call; and the old Tom continued to respond in kind. But for whatever reason, defying all hunting wisdom, he would not come to them.

Undeterred, they pulled up stakes, and went over to the base of a ridge where they could try once again. Sure enough, as soon as they began clucking, the Tom once again gobbled. This standoff went on for another ten to fifteen minutes. But yet again, the Tom did not budge.

My son then told his hunting partner that he was going to slip up to the top of the ridge and see if he could coax the old gobbler down the slope. He then took several minutes surreptitiously making his way up the ridge to where he could hopefully glimpse his prey.

As his partner continued to call, and as the gobbler continued to respond, my son ascended the hill. When he finally got to the top, he quickly realized that he was on the edge of the property where the woods gave way to a neighbor’s field. Some one hundred or so yards beyond was a barn on the adjacent owner’s property. And what do you suppose was attached to the back of that barn?

You guessed it - a pen in which there was a tame Gobbler! Needless to say, it was worked up into a frenzy of excitement as it was desperately looking for a way out of the pen in order to undertake a romantic tryst just up and over the hill! At that point, the sound of the Tom’s gobbling was drowned out by the voluminous laughter of my son!

As he related this episode to me, I could not help but think how lucky that old Tom was. Whether it realized it or not, that obstacle (in this case, a fence) had in fact saved its life! And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this old Tom was a picture of me.

When King Odysseus left Troy at the end of the Trojan War (as chronicled by the ancient Greek poet Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey), he took ten years to journey back home to Ithaca. Along the way, he and his men had to pass by the island of the “Sirens”, in which they had to endure and overcome the “Siren’s call” to put in, be seduced, and ultimately be overcome.

How many times in my own life have I heard the so-called “siren call” of some dangerous temptation? And thankfully, how many times have I been prevented from answering such calls by some God-ordained barrier?!

In truth, no matter how frustrating it may have been at the time, the fencing of its pen saved that old Tom’s life. In like manner, there have been many times in my life when the barriers God placed in my life may have initially seemed a bit exasperating; but in the long run, they proved to be in my best interest.

And I am not alone. In the New Testament Book of Acts (chapter 26, verses 6-10) we read:

6After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. 7And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

9During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

11We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis. 12From there we went to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia.

Clearly, here is a classic example of God throwing up a barrier in order to prevent His servant from making a mistake! The result? Not only the rest of the book of Acts, but also Paul’s ministry itself! It was destined to go from Bithynia to such places as Philippi, Berea, Thessalonica, and eventually, even the capital of Greece, Athens. No doubt all of these steps then led to Paul’s inevitable trip to the capital of the Empire, Rome itself!

It is interesting to note that the Biblical city of Troas is, in fact, the very same place as the ancient city of Troy. From here, just like his predecessor Odysseus, Paul began a journey in which he would have to decide which direction was truly prudent, and which was not. But unlike Odysseus, for Paul, more than mere history was at stake. For him, and for his decisions, eternity was at stake!

How about you? Have you ever experienced a barrier obviously placed before you by God Himself? If so, then rejoice! For, in the end, if He placed it there, it was inevitably done so for your benefit. As well as for the benefit countless others whom you are destined to encounter and influence!

Even a bird brain should see that!

SCRIPTURE: https://biblehub.com/bsb/acts/16.htm.

SEE ALSO: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey.

<<Previous