Friday, June 19, 2015

Premeditated Accident

Things often don't happen the way we planned...especially accidents. So, I have to come clean on an embarrassing moment. My cel phone is currently resting in a bed of rice hoping for resuscitation after it went into the water. The plan was for it to not go into the water, because I was going to be in a boat. The sad part is that the phone didn't go in the water by itself. It was in my pocket. Long story short, we were launching the boat and I fell into the water at the dock. Yeah, I laughed too. Fortunately, a couple of guys were working on the pier next to us and motioned, that as far as fall-ins go, I had a perfect "10." --- It did take me some time to see how this one fit into spiritual application. There are a lot of things in life that we would not have done had we known there was going to be a slip-up in the plan. Before I left the house (twice) I thought about getting a water-proof container for my phone in case of an accident. Even at the dock I almost left it in the truck when I realized some guys had better cameras on board to capture an awesome moment on the Gulf. --- What chances in life are you taking? Is there someone you need to speak to about something before it is too late? Have you thought about something you needed to do a couple to three times, and you still haven't bothered? We don't plan for things to happen that we might regret later. The ultimate question: have you accepted Christ as your Savior or is that something you are putting off. --- My shoes are drying, my wallet has dried, and I am still hoping my phone will come back around; but those are just temporal things. No big deal. Most accidents are preventable. We often get mysterious warnings or just common sense to take precautions. If we ignore the warnings, I guess you could say our accidents are sort of premeditated.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Alien Adventure

Recently I got the chance to have a very interesting conversation with a person that believed we come from aliens. Being an alien myself I thought it good to listen to this person’s belief, and see what God would have me to say or not say. To gain some central ground, I asked what the person believed about Jesus, the cross and the resurrection. The person believed the first two, but said the resurrection was too hard to believe. So I asked for their beliefs only after I complimented their answer saying that one of Jesus own disciples didn’t believe… at first (Thomas). I told them that Thomas’ original disbelief was for us, because the resurrection does sound crazy and hard to believe. Thomas was not naive, nor were the other disciples. They believed because they saw it. —- Anyway, my not-yet-convinced compadre said it was easier to believe in aliens, because the vast universe is silent when it comes to God. To this I nearly choked in disbelief. Are you kidding me? The heavens literally preach the glory of God. —- The conversation was healthy, but I don’t believe for a second that my new friend really believed any of that. —- We live in a world where people want to believe in anything, but the truth, because the truth is inconvenient. My prayer is that he/she would sincerely seek the truth. After we have shared Jesus, that is all we can do.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Pulling Weeds

Our lives can really blossom into what God desires for us. We can be on a winning streak for quite some time. It is possible to live for a while with an uncluttered life with smooth sailing. However, you better pay attention to the weeds. A yard can be looking real good, but it takes maintenance. A beautiful yard is such because it is well-manicured. Someone is paying attention to it. They are mowing the lawn and pulling up the weeds. If we do not pay attention to the “weeds” that can show up in our lives, then they will choke out the good. Having a quiet time with God in communion through prayer and His Word is essential to live a Christ-like life. If that part of your soul life is well-manicured because you have given it top-shelf attention, then you will avoid fall-out and burn-out that can easily set in on the best of us.