Blog Archives

SALT AWAY!

1/30/2020

In his book, Led By The Carpenter, D. James Kennedy tells the following story:

A man walked into a little mom-and-pop grocery store and asked, "Do you sell salt?"

"Ha!" said Pop the proprietor. "Do we sell salt! Just look!" And Pop showed the customer one entire wall of shelves stocked with nothing but salt - Morton salt, iodized salt, kosher salt, sea salt, rock salt, garlic salt, seasoning salt, Epsom salts, every kind of salt imaginable.

"Wow!" said the customer.

"You think that's something?" said Pop with a wave of his hand. "That's nothing! Come look." And Pop led the customer to a back room filled with shelves and bins and cartons and barrels and boxes of salt. "Do we sell salt!" he said.

"Unbelievable!" said the customer.

"You think that's something?" said Pop. "Come! I'll show you salt!" And Pop led the customer down some steps into a huge basement, five times as large as the previous room, filled wall, floor, to ceiling, with every imaginable form and size and shape of salt, even huge ten-pound salt licks for the cow pasture.
"Incredible!" said the customer. "You really do sell salt!"

"No!" said Pop. "That's just the problem! We never sell salt! But that salt salesman, Hoo-boy! Does he sell salt!"

Dr. Kennedy goes on to make the point that salt that stays on the shelf doesn't do any good at all. In his famed Sermon on the Mount on the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (chapter 5, verses 13-16), Jesus Christ calls those of us who follow Him to be the salt of the earth:

13You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

As such, our job is to find a way to get off the shelf and out and into people’s lives! May we be faithful to do so!

STORY SOURCE: D. James Kennedy, Led By The Carpenter (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 46.

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

FOR THE RECORD…

1/27/2020

As is the case for many Americans, each year in January, two important documents come my way. The first is the standard W-2 form I receive from my place of employment. As a Minister of the Gospel, I receive this from the office of the local church where I serve as Pastor. This is office also generates a second important form as well – the record of contributions my wife and I have made over the previous year.

The obvious significance of these documents lies in their relationship to our income tax return, which, along with other citizens, we must file before the April 15th deadline. As I gather my records, one is used for income purposes; and the other is used for expense purposes.

As I have been busy assembling these and other documents together in order to have my tax return prepared, I have been reminded that we all leave behind us a record of our various activities in this world. My wife and I each spent the previous calendar year engaged in useful and rewarding employment. We now have a record of that.

We also spent the previous year contributing to organizations whose purposes and activities are those in which we greatly believe. And while we did not necessarily do it for this reason, now we have a record of our contributions to those entities as well.

If you think about it, what is true of the previous year is actually true of our whole lives here in this world. From the time I entered preschool, I myself have left a trail of records documenting most all of my various activities in life. The trail has followed me though school and on into my working life. In many respects, it has also followed me in most every other area of my life as well.

Similarly, I have also left a trail of contributions behind me. At times, these contributions have been financial. At other times, they have more involved the contribution of time or of talent or of effort. But either way, my life, like every other person’s, has left in its wake a clear testimony to what my priorities have been.

At the conclusion of each year, as I prepare for my tax return, I can sit down and see with my own eyes how and what I have been employed with over the previous twelve months. I can see what I have labored away at for all that time. I can also look back and see what I chose to do with a significant portion of the resources I was granted in exchange over that period of time.

I am reminded in all of this that there will come a day when this life itself is over; and I will have occasion to reflect on how I spent my time and what all I accomplished in this world. Equally as important, I will have opportunity to be reminded of how I used the resources I with which I was entrusted during my time on earth.

These days, I go through this process with an accountant. In that day, I will go through the process with my Creator! As a follower of Jesus Christ, I trust that when I do, I will hear those words He once spoke in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (chapter 25, verse 23): “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful… Enter now into the joy of your lord.”

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/matthew/25-23.htm.

MARK THAT MAN!

1/23/2020

It was exactly twenty years ago tonight, at approximately 8:30 pm, that a single phone call changed my life forever. My family and I had just arrived home from evening services at church when my sister called. She asked if I was sitting down. I responded by inquiring what was wrong – to which she managed to utter, “He’s gone!” before falling into prolonged sobs. My father, Cleo Eugene Jackson, Jr., had just died.

Psalm 37:37 says, “Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; for the man of peace will have a posterity.” Tonight, in this short post, I would like to take time to mark and honor my father, who was just such a person.

It is hard to believe that it has now been twenty long years since this man, who had a greater impact upon my life than any other person I ever knew, passed away. I think about him often; and, along with my sisters, I have done so a lot throughout this day in particular.

He did not get to live long enough to see me move to my present place of service, where I have been for almost two decades. Nor did he survive long enough to see my three kids grow up, graduate high school and college, get married, and start families of their own. I would love for him to have lived to see his great grandchildren.

And yet, I like to think that somehow, perhaps, he passed on with the peace of knowing that he had glorified God as a follower of Jesus Christ by living a good life, by loving and providing for his family, and by leaving a significant mark upon those who knew and loved him. And even though he never got to meet the spouses of his grandchildren or those great grandchildren who would become his legacy, I am confident that he will do so one day in the hereafter.

For my part, I hope that he would be pleased with me as his son. I hope that he would be proud of who I am, of what I stand for, and of how I have chosen to live my life. All of these things have truly been done in good part because of his stamp upon me. As a man so marked, I trust that I have borne not only his name, but also his imprint well.

What is more, I can only hope that, when the time comes that I myself follow him into eternity, I too will have glorified God by my life, and have left a similar imprint upon my own children and grandchildren. With God’s help, I am attempting to do these very things.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/psalms/37-37.htm.

LOW SODIUM!

1/21/2020

In His famed “Sermon on the Mount” in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (chapter 5, verses 13-16), Jesus Christ makes the following statements to those of us who follow Him as our Lord and Savior:

13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Scholars tell us that salt had many uses in ancient times. While these included culinary, medicinal, and even economic applications, the chief use of salt prior to refrigeration seems to have been for preservation.

Perhaps, therefore, what Jesus is telling us is that we live in a world that is rife with decay and darkness; and that our job as His followers is to find ways to counter these forces in the lives of the people we meet by being salt and light for Him.

As this is our job as believers, if we do not do it, then the question becomes “Who will?”

To illustrate the importance of fulfilling our God-given task to be the salt of the earth, I share the following story with you today.

Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, former Asbury Seminary professor and Asbury College president, tells a story about growing up in rural Lumberton, North Carolina, during the depression. It was Dennis’ job, as a young boy, to rub salt into the meat his father brought home from hunting. He would rub salt into the meat until his young muscles were sore. Finally, when it was thoroughly salted, he would hang it up in the storehouse.

One day company arrived, so Dennis’ mother asked him to get a ham out of the storehouse. Dennis ran out, got a big ham off of a hook, and brought it into the kitchen. He laid it on his mother‘s cutting board and left. He was just about out the front door when heard his mother yell, “Dennis!”

Young Dennis knew from experience that whenever his mother screamed his name like that he was in trouble, so he slunk his way to the kitchen and stood in the doorway, afraid to go in.

Looking up at his mother from the doorway, he noticed she was not glaring at him but rather staring down at the meat. Dennis looked and noticed something unusual. He would say that it was the first time in his life he ever saw meat move. Stepping closer, he noticed maggots pouring out of the slice his mother had made into the pork.

Dennis thought for sure he was going to get it. But all Mom said was, “Not enough salt, Dennis. Not enough salt.”

Many believers bemoan the state of our culture today. But while it is easy to want to blame Hollywood, or television or Madison Avenue, or liberal schooling, or even the government for the decay of our culture, maybe, just maybe, the real problem is “not enough salt” among ourselves. If we feel the world is decaying around us, the problem may very well be “not enough salt.”

In light of this, may we be faithful at every opportunity to be the salt and light that Jesus calls us to be!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

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

STORY SOURCE:

Available widely on the internet. Monty Leavell, of First united Methodist Church in Artesia, New Mexico, appears to have actually heard Dr. Kinlaw tell this story firsthand.

Cf.: https://s3.amazonaws.com/mychurchwebsite/c2058/nl11-6-19.pdf;

Other sources include:

https://culturecampaign.blogspot.com/2008/06/inactive-rudderless-church.html;

http://www.southeastsun.com/lifestyles/church/article_5c6faaf8-6fbb-11e6-b4aa-e75a423318b3.html;

and https://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2016/09/03/we-must-be-the-salt-to-preserve-values/.

SNAKE AND BAKE!

1/17/2020

A new twist on the old phrase “Shake and Bake” has apparently unfolded in North Carolina. According to a January 2, 2020 www.FoxNews.com article by Alexandra Deabler titled “North Carolina Family Cooks Frozen Pizza, Accidentally Bakes Snake”, we may well now have the answer to the age old question of “What’s for dinner?”!

It seems that a Wake Forest, North Carolina family was planning on a simple meal of frozen pizza at home this past Monday evening; but instead, they had their entire night ruined by a snake that somehow got into their oven.

Imagine the surprise awaiting Amber Helm and her husband Robert Monday night when they opened the oven to check on the pizza only to discover that they had actually cooked a snake in the process.

It all began when they started smelling smoke. “I opened up the oven and thought, ‘Is that part of the oven?’ I looked more closely and it was a snake,” Amber told The News & Observer.

The Helm family has no idea how the snake got into the oven – or how long it had been there. Mr. Helm was tasked with cleaning up the nearly 18-inch-long creature. Needless to say, no one ate the pizza that night; and the entire incident has left them all more than a little nervous. “I have two little boys so I’m just so concerned,” Mrs. Helm said.

Not surprisingly, the article concluded by saying that the Helm family is now looking into having someone come out and check their home for any other snakes. Not a bad idea!

For my part, I’ve had pepperoni pizza, sausage pizza, hamburger pizza, and even three-meat pizza! But I’ve never had snake pizza! I’m assuming it’s safe to say that it tastes like chicken! Seriously, I do not blame the Helms for not eating their pizza. I would have passed as well!

While my wife sand I have encountered a snake or two in the basement and/or the garage down through the years, we have never met one in the kitchen! And yet, what happened to the Helm family could just as easily have happened to us, or to you, or to any other person. Indeed, we are told that anywhere a snake can get its head, its body can definitely follow!

The truth is that snakes have been a danger to humans since we first came to be. The first two chapters of the Old Testament Book of Genesis give us an account of the creation of the world and of mankind. Immediately thereafter, in the third chapter, Adam and Eve encounter the serpent who entices them to succumb to temptation and sin.

While they are not physically bitten by the serpent, they are bitten spiritually, as it were. Moreover, they are poisoned with sin as a result of their encounter. Thereafter, they passed that poison down to all of us. And as the New Testament tells us (in I Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 56), that which brings about our spiritual death is the sting of sin we have all received!

But praise God, the very next verse (verse 57) tells us that we have overcome this death sentence by the victory we have been given in Christ Jesus!

These days, science has provided us something known as anti-venom. Whenever a person is bitten by a poisonous snake, he or she is immediately given an infusion of anti-venom to counteract the destructive power of the venom. Ironically, the anti-venom is made from venom!

In much the same way, Jesus Christ has made possible an antidote to the poison of sin. For when He allowed Himself to be crucified on our behalf, His death, brought about as a result of our own sin, paid the price for our sin and satisfied the wrath of God, making possible the new life that we now have available in Christ!

I’m glad no one in the Helm family was poisoned by the snake in their midst. But I’m also glad to know that they would have had available what the needed to overcome it if they had been.

I’m even gladder to know that Jesus Christ has provided me what I needed to overcome the poison of sin within me. And what He has done for me He has also done for you, my friend! If you are living under the sentence of death from the sting of sin today, I urge you to turn to the Great Physician, even as I have done! He alone has the cure for what ails us!

SOURCE:
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/north-carolina-family-frozen-pizza-snake.

Alexandra Deabler is a Lifestyle writer and editor for Fox News.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
https://biblehub.com/kjv/1_corinthians/15.htm.

“EATIN’ GOOD?”

1/13/2020

We Baptist preachers are noted for certain things. Well, at least, we are often kidded about certain things. Among them are a propensity for long sermons and a love for southern fried chicken! I know because as part of a good-natured exchange with my parishioners, I take a lot of ribbing over these two items.

As regards long sermons, my only defense is that the greatest sermon ever preached, the famed “Sermon on the Mount” preached by Jesus Himself, is three whole chapters long. Not to mention that the book of Acts tells us that Apostle Paul preached so long into the night (Acts 20:9) at Troas that at midnight a young man fell asleep and tumbled out of the balcony!

Regarding my love for chicken, I admit that I have been personally responsible for quite a few chickens entering the ministry! (One bite at a time!) I like to remind everyone that it was actually a rooster who ratted on Simon Peter in the Gospels. And we preachers have all been duty bound ever since to even the score!

But the good folks in my church family know that there is one other food I simply love. I am a Cheetos junkie! Now, I know what the nutritionists all say. Cheetos are bad for you. They have no nutritional value and are full of synthetic and highly-processed ingredients. Apparently, one serving (about 21 individual pieces) has 150 calories and 10 grams of fat, but essentially no positive nutritional value.

But I also know one other thing: Cheetos are just about the best tasting thing on this planet!!! And I hope we get to eat them in Heaven!

Perhaps it was my love for Cheetos that made me notice the following recent headline: “Cheetos Announces Official Name For The Dusty Cheese Residue Left On Your Fingers”. The story, written by Alexandra Deabler, was published January 13, 2020 on www.Fox News.com.

As the headline indicates, the article deals with that cheesy residue we all get on our fingers whenever we eat Cheetos. At issue what to call this residue. Apparently, this has been a topic of discussion since Cheetos were first released way back in 1948.

The good news is that we do not have to worry anymore; because Cheetos has finally given it a name. The dusty-cheese byproduct of eating Cheetos that consumers, for decades, have known as “Cheetos fingers” (a description that even has its own Instagram hashtag) now has an official term: “Cheetle”.

According to a press release from Frito-Lay, "Cheetle" is defined as “that orange and red dust symbolic of true Cheetos fandom”. Henceforth, people might use the term "Cheetle" thusly: “My hands have Cheetle on them,” or, “Did you stain my shirt with Cheetle?”

To celebrate the coining of their new term, Frito-Lay is rolling out a brand-new product covered in Cheetle. For the first time ever, they will offer ready-to-eat popcorn “that has been infused with Cheetle.”

According to Brandi Ray, senior director of marketing for Frito-Lay North America: “We’ve seen the way Cheetos lovers don their red- and orange-dusted fingers like a badge of honor, and we’re always looking for ways to help them step up their snacking game. The only way to truly take popcorn to the next level is to add the iconic Cheetle, the cheesy dust that will entice Cheetos fans to snack on this popcorn all year long.”

Talk about a match made in Heaven! All I can say is “Sign me up!” Breakfast, lunch, and supper!

And yet, if I am to be honest, as much as I love both “Cheetos” and popcorn, I know in my heart that a diet consisting solely of such items would not really be healthy for me. While both of these items taste extremely good, I recognize that they are each to be consumed in moderation, meaning only periodically, and even then, as a snack, but never as a meal.

On those occasions when, viewing a ballgame or some such program, I have foregone a meal and eaten a large bowl of either, I have never really felt satisfied. Even if my appetite has been curbed, I have still felt somewhat of a “blah” feeling inside afterwards. And I know that I would never want to fill up on any such before going out to do a full day of manual labor.

The truth is that we are not designed to subsist of junk food. Rather, our bodies function best when we nurture them with a nutritious balance of genuinely wholesome foodstuffs from the basic groups reflected in the food pyramid. If we eat healthy, we tend to be healthy. And if we do not, we tend not to be.

Of course, what is true for our physical bodies is also true for our souls. We are designed to be nurtured on a steady diet of the Word of God. When we consume both the milk and the meat of God’s word regularly and consistently, we tend to be much healthier spiritually. But when we cheat ourselves and consistently consume only spiritual junk food, we serve merely to weaken ourselves spiritually; and we increasingly lose our effectiveness as followers of Christ.

STORY SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/cheetos-name-cheese-dust-residue-fingers-new-snack. The author, Alexandra Deabler, is a Lifestyle writer and editor for Fox News.

FIT FOR A KING

1/9/2020

Although he has been deceased since 1977, Elvis Presley remains among the top selling artists of all time. A recent ranking has him at number three in all time sales, just behind the Beatles and Garth Brooks. He leads the category for posthumous sales.

As the prototypical rock star, movie star, and sex symbol, one can only imagine what his life was like. Little wonder that we are told that he literally craved privacy. Indeed, some of the most intriguing videos of Elvis are the home movies posted online of him at joyous play on the fourteen acres of his Graceland estate. One can see him laughing hilariously as he is playing ball, riding horses, and driving his family around on his celebrated golf cart.

It is somewhat surprising, therefore, that in a highly publicized auction earlier this week, this famed golf cart did not draw any serious bidders. According to the headline of an article by Gary Gastelu, published January 09, 2020 on www.FoxNews.com, “Elvis Presley's Harley-Davidson golf cart duffs at auction”.

The beige and white vehicle is near pristine; and even though it doesn’t currently run, it remains all-original, save for the golf bag holder, which was removed complete with documentation. Apparently, the king of rock ‘n roll paid $1,055.38 for the cart before having it fitted out to his exact liking.

Before the auction, it was estimated that it would sell for $60,000 to $70,000. However, while lots of other items pulled in big bucks, no one even met the minimum bid of $20,000 for the cart.

I myself like to hear to Elvis sing. He was definitely gifted by God with a tremendous singing voice. I have a playlist on my device of some of his more famous songs. And I also have a gospel collection he released.

Nonetheless, what I find interesting is that a generation ago, any item even remotely associated with an entertainer of such stature would have been gobbled up. Now, however, as many of his fans are aging (like me) and passing on themselves, even the personal items of someone like Elvis are not as sought after as they once were. One assumes that, given enough time, even those that are still highly valued will lose some of their appeal.

All of this reminds us that all this world has to offer is fleeting. Life itself is short enough. Elvis got 42 years. And he certainly made the most of this time. He amassed a lot of fortune and fame. Yet with each passing year, even these things, sought so desperately by most people, still diminish.

The Psalmist (Psalm 144, verse 4) once stated “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” Peter understood this, and affirmed the following in his First New Testament Letter (Chapter 1, verse 24): “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

I believe Elvis understood this. While he had his share of personal struggles, as we all do, an examination of his discography record shows that, in and among his other recordings, he released Gospel albums and/or singles all throughout his career.

More to the point, it is reported by those who knew him that best that Elvis sometimes used to stay up all night singing gospel songs. He once said, "We do two shows a night for five weeks. A lotta times we'll go upstairs and sing until daylight - gospel songs. We grew up with it... it more or less puts your mind at ease. It does mine."

Perhaps this was his way of reminding us that even one who was considered a king in this world knew that he would one day stand before the One True King! When that time comes, nothing this world has to offer will compare to having been fitted for that moment!

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/elvis-presleys-harley-davidson-golf-cart-duffs-at-auction

Gary Gastelu is FoxNews.com's Automotive Editor. He can be followed at @garygastelu.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/144.htm;

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

ELVIS QUOTE SOURCE:

https://www.beliefnet.com/entertainment/music/2009/02/elvis-presley-quotes.aspx.

Note that this page also records that Elvis once plainly stated: "There's only one king...and that's Jesus Christ."

WHAT’S UP YOUR SLEEVE?

1/5/2020

Most of us have seen the credit card commercial which asks the question “What’s in your wallet?” My title today is a take on that concept.

Recently, I was getting dressed for the office and was putting on my dress shirt. It had been duly washed, dried, and ironed by my precious wife (who simply will not allow me to go out of the house and off to work wearing a wrinkled shirt).

You all know the routine. Being right handed, my right arm went in the right sleeve first. This was followed by my left arm going into the left sleeve. It was then that I felt it. It did not hurt. It was not necessarily uncomfortable. But it was there where something in the mind told me that it shouldn’t be.

In response, I promptly retracted my left arm and shook out whatever was lodged in my garment. When it came out, it was a simple dryer sheet, placed in with the clothes by my wife to add fabric softener in the drying process. It had remained in the sleeve and had even undergone the ironing process. I concluded the latter because it was neatly pressed with a nice crisp crease from the iron.

For some reason, what came to my mind was the simple question: “What’s up your sleeve?” I did some research and discovered that it’s a common enough expression. Its origins come from the card playing days of the old west. Slick gamblers would generally keep an ace up their sleeve. We are all familiar with this concept.

But some also kept derringer pistols there as well. And in this sense, the phrase actually predates the wild west of America. It seems that assassins in the ancient world were known to often known to carry daggers hidden up inside their sleeves.

Another prominent use of the term comes from the world of illusion. Magicians and entertainers often conceal objects up their sleeves as props for their feats of magic. In this case, the immediate purpose is the same as for card playing – deception. Albeit, one can contend that the deception is harmless and designed more for entertainment rather than nefarious purposes.

Isn’t it interesting that most of what we associate with having something up one’s sleeve is negative? Is it possible to have things up one’s sleeve that serve some purpose other than these negative things? Perhaps so; and perhaps the soft, fresh smelling dryer sheet that popped out of my sleeve gives us a hint.

Perhaps we can find ways to approach people with some wonderful little surprise up our sleeve. Something that brings them relief from the all too harsh world in which we all live.

Something that soothes rather than grates, that refreshes rather than drains, and that uplifts rather than brings them down. In effect, we can find simple little ways to surprise others by uplifting and encouraging them in the name of Jesus Christ.

The Bible is full of examples of people who did just that – who encouraged others in the name of and on behalf of God. Consider the following examples of Biblical encouragers…

1 Samuel 23:16: “And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in the Lord.”

Acts 11:23 “Then when Barnabus arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord…”

Acts 14:21-22: “Then Paul and Barnabus returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith…”

Acts 15:32: “Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren…”

Colossians 2:2: Paul writes and says, “My goal is that their (the Colossians’ and the Laodiceans’) hearts may be encouraged…”

Colossians 4:8: Paul writes and says, “For I have sent Tychicus to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.”

Colossians 4:11: Paul again says, “Justus and other fellow workers for the kingdom of God have proved to be an encouragement to me.”

Dryer sheets are quite inexpensive. A box of 240 costs just $8.94, for an average of 3.7 cents per sheet. Yet, just one of those sheets was an unexpected and pleasant surprise for me.

Likewise, one of the few things we can do each day that cost us very little and yet still has a powerful impact is a simple, unexpected, pleasant little word of encouragement!

So keep several of these up your sleeve; and be ready at a moment’s notice to pop one out whenever it might be needed. This simple act will prove a blessing to both you and the one you surprise with it!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/People-Encouraging-Others.