My wife and I have had this new-fangled, wireless, combination printer, copier, scanner, and fax-machine for a few months now. It is truly a marvelous thing to behold as it undertakes its many and varied tasks.
Recently, however, it just stopped working. As we fiddled with it, we noticed that it was showing us on its information panel that it was having problems with the printer head – whatever that is. We were not really certain of what we were facing. Nevertheless, we decided to tackle the thing.
So, we turned it off and turned it back on. It still had a problem. We unplugged it and let it sit awhile before re-plugging it. It still had a problem. We then pulled out the four ink cartridges and reinstalled them. It still had a problem. We repeated all of the above steps once again. Only, this time, when I went to replace the ink cartridges, I noticed something.
There it was – fast asleep on the ridge of the yellow cartridge. The culprit? A little “stink bug”. At least that is what we call them. Our home has had a veritable infestation of them, or so it seems. We have probably caught around a dozen or so of them in the last few weeks. But I never dreamed one of them would set up housekeeping down inside the printer!
According to the internet, the “Brown Marmorated Stink Bug” was introduced accidentally into this country from the Far East in 1998. They have exploded in population since. Being agricultural pests, they eat only plants; but they can be a nuisance to homeowners as they tend to come inside houses in the fall of the year for hibernation purposes.
The problem is that they defend themselves by releasing a pungent odor from a gland in their abdomen. So they are perhaps best left alone. But I would rather have smelly fingers than a printer that does not work. Thus, I did battle with the beast! And though I got some stink on me in the process, I nonetheless prevailed.
As I sat reveling in my victory, printing away, I thought about the fact that another home was invaded by an outsider. Genesis chapter 3 relates how a culprit named Satan came into the Garden of Eden from the outside and got a stinky substance called sin all over Adam and Eve, fouling up their insides, and preventing them from functioning as their Master intended.
For thousands of years, the process of vicarious animal sacrifices in the Old Testament kept attempting to restart men and women. But nothing really worked. Thus, in due time, the Master decided to reach down into the heart of the matter and address the real problem. Through Jesus Christ, the finished work of salvation was wrought as sin and its ugly stink was taken from our hearts and placed upon Him.
The result was that He was tarnished; but we were cleansed. And because of this, we can once again function as our Maker intended.
I hope you have experienced the cleansing work of Christ. I hope you have allowed Him to reach into your heart and fix your real problem. If not, now would be a great time to do just that! Nothing in this world compares to getting to the heart of the matter and getting things cleaned up, so that the stink is gone and the bugs are out!
I leave you with these words from the Apostle John in his first New Testament letter I John 1:9): “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Amen! Praise God for that.
Recently, however, it just stopped working. As we fiddled with it, we noticed that it was showing us on its information panel that it was having problems with the printer head – whatever that is. We were not really certain of what we were facing. Nevertheless, we decided to tackle the thing.
So, we turned it off and turned it back on. It still had a problem. We unplugged it and let it sit awhile before re-plugging it. It still had a problem. We then pulled out the four ink cartridges and reinstalled them. It still had a problem. We repeated all of the above steps once again. Only, this time, when I went to replace the ink cartridges, I noticed something.
There it was – fast asleep on the ridge of the yellow cartridge. The culprit? A little “stink bug”. At least that is what we call them. Our home has had a veritable infestation of them, or so it seems. We have probably caught around a dozen or so of them in the last few weeks. But I never dreamed one of them would set up housekeeping down inside the printer!
According to the internet, the “Brown Marmorated Stink Bug” was introduced accidentally into this country from the Far East in 1998. They have exploded in population since. Being agricultural pests, they eat only plants; but they can be a nuisance to homeowners as they tend to come inside houses in the fall of the year for hibernation purposes.
The problem is that they defend themselves by releasing a pungent odor from a gland in their abdomen. So they are perhaps best left alone. But I would rather have smelly fingers than a printer that does not work. Thus, I did battle with the beast! And though I got some stink on me in the process, I nonetheless prevailed.
As I sat reveling in my victory, printing away, I thought about the fact that another home was invaded by an outsider. Genesis chapter 3 relates how a culprit named Satan came into the Garden of Eden from the outside and got a stinky substance called sin all over Adam and Eve, fouling up their insides, and preventing them from functioning as their Master intended.
For thousands of years, the process of vicarious animal sacrifices in the Old Testament kept attempting to restart men and women. But nothing really worked. Thus, in due time, the Master decided to reach down into the heart of the matter and address the real problem. Through Jesus Christ, the finished work of salvation was wrought as sin and its ugly stink was taken from our hearts and placed upon Him.
The result was that He was tarnished; but we were cleansed. And because of this, we can once again function as our Maker intended.
I hope you have experienced the cleansing work of Christ. I hope you have allowed Him to reach into your heart and fix your real problem. If not, now would be a great time to do just that! Nothing in this world compares to getting to the heart of the matter and getting things cleaned up, so that the stink is gone and the bugs are out!
I leave you with these words from the Apostle John in his first New Testament letter I John 1:9): “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Amen! Praise God for that.