The Jeep

            I was born and raised on a farm west of Plainview, so we were a pretty good ways from the hustle and bustle of town. My father has a 1956 Willis jeep. All of my older siblings learned to drive in this jeep and I was no exception. The story takes place about the time that I was in fifth grade.

             It was my birthday party and I had a bunch of boys from church over to spend the night out in the tent and do the regular tough guy things that fifth graders do. Well about two or three in the morning we get the bright idea to take the jeep out for a spin around the farm. We knew that my parents were asleep and we didn’t want to wake them up, so me and the other boys pushed the jeep far away from the house before we started it up. We got what we thought was far enough away and we started the jeep and went for a ride. What we didn’t think of was that the jeep didn’t have a muffler and sounded like a Bumblebee on steroids. The next morning we all came in for breakfast. My father let us all get set down and eating good and dropped the bomb on us “so you boys have fun last night when you took the jeep out for a spin?” You could have knocked us down with a feather. The obvious response was how did you know? We were so clever to push it away how could you have possibly known? Well what we didn’t take into consideration was that at night your father can hear better and second that fathers have superpowers to sense young boys stupidity.

             I think some times we think that we are so clever with our sins that no one will know what we are up to. Eze_21:24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. There isn’t any place that we can go that God can’t see or hear us. We may be able to hide what we do or say in private from others, but not our God he knows the secret parts of our hearts. Brother Leland wrote a devotional titled walk the talk. We also need to walk the walk in our lives. We need to keep in our daily thoughts that God can see our every thought and action we have and live our lives accordingly. We don’t want to find ourselves surprised on the Day of Judgment by the sins we thought were hidden. 1Jn_1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

             The other part to the story was that my father taught me a good lesson that morning. He taught me that I wasn’t as sneaky as I had hoped to be and he let me know that he was watching and looking out for me.  God is doing the same for us he is not looking for a reason to condemn us, but wants all to be profitable children of his.

Callen Pinkerton

Football!! (4th Quarter)

When comparing football to Christianity there are some certainties. There must be a good game plan, offense, defense and a bench with depth. There must also be a good coach(s). Another aspect of this correlation is the spectator.

At some point in our spiritual life it might become necessary for us to be a spectator. You might be thinking, that I am out of bounds on this one, but I ask you to bear with me and keep reading…

Being a spectator is not the most advantageous place for a Christian. But for various reasons the spectator is there. Youth, age, sickness can all account for the spiritual spectator. This is not necessarily a bad thing, if the spectator is the right kind!

Who cheers on the team? Who keeps the coach honest? Who expects the players to play to their full potential? The Spectator does!

If you for some reason, or another, find yourself in the stands in this spiritual battle; don’t give up hope! Keep yelling for the team. Keep giving suggestions and exhortations! Keep up your struggle, until you can get down on the field and be a more integral part of the win! One of the best story lines ever told is that of a spectator, learning, working and striving until he/she is able to make it to the sidelines and hopefully show their worth and make a difference!

What makes a spectator so important is their desire to see a big “W!”

A true spectator is an integral part of the win. As a matter of fact, there are some college stadiums that the home fans are considered a “twelfth man.”

The bottom line is:

1Ti 4:15  Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

Max Gaskins

Are you living like a first round draft pick?

Volume 1 Issue 1

As football season is about to start its regular season, talking heads are already debating who is going to be the best player of the draft, which player will be the “steal”of the draft, and which player will be the “bust” of the draft.

The children of Israel were once drafted by God as His chosen people.  In Deut. 7:6 we read “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”  God could have chosen any other tribe to be his people, but he selected the offspring of Abraham to be the cornerstone of His franchise on Earth.  God promised Abraham in Gen 12:3 “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”  Part of the promise of God was that through the seed of Abraham all people would have opportunity to join God’s winning team.  In Gal 3:16, 29 Paul says “to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ, And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Through Christ you have been drafted onto a championship team.  Peter says in 2 Peter 1:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

Read Matt. 25:14-30

God does not expect a sixth round pick to perform like a first rounder (Mat 25:15  And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.), but you have to live up to your projection to be pleasing to the One that drafted you (Mat 25:20  And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. Mat 25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.).  The last thing God wants is for you to be a “bust” for His team. (Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.) Live a life that shows others that there is a reason that God drafted you.  You might not be the very best at your position, but give God your heart, mind, and body!  Give Him your blood, sweat, and tears!  Give Him every ounce of you! Remember, you are on God’s team!

Your challenge this week is to be a team player.  Try to help one of your fellow brothers or sisters in Christ with something that they need without expecting something in return from them.

Your Fellow Servant,
Wayne Lowry

WayneLowry