Ounce of Prevention

DateLine (7/27/05 – Ponce, Puerto Rico)

When Harriett and I were newlyweds we lived in the Charleston, SC area because we were college students at Charleston Southern University. During this time we were introduced to a new pest, fire ants, which at the time had not made its way to the upstate. After several encounters Harriett became aware that she was developing an allergy to these aggressive little creatures.

Over the years after we moved back to the Woodruff area she had several more encounters with stinging insects, one which was a severe medical emergency brought on due to multiple yellow jacket stings. After that incident our doctor issued to her an epipen which she now has with her at all times and is prepared to self-administer to ward off anaphylactic shock if necessary. Each exposure to one of these pesky critters seemed to invoke a more severe reaction. Each time God looked over her and she received quick and effective medical treatment. I’d be the first to admit a fear of some future incident. Something happened a few weeks ago to slightly alleviate those fears just a little and give me some insight into how God works.

We decided this year to have a small vegetable garden. Harriett has carried much of the load of working in the garden since my travel schedule has me away a lot of time during the week. During one such visit to the garden she happened to encounter a group of our friends the fire ants which you know by now have found their way into the upstate of SC. She received multiple stings. The initial concern based on the previous history soon began to ease when she realized that she was not responding quite as severe as she had in the past. What was different? Maybe the preventative dose of antihistamine she was taking for hay fever had acted to reduce her reaction to insect stings.

What does this have to do with God? The antihistamine that “vaccinated” Harriett against anaphylaxis is a lot like the indwelling Holy Spirit. As we go about our daily business in this lost and fallen world we are strong against the poisons that are directed our way. Our culture is not able to compromise our spiritual health and put us into an emergency. We can have complete confidence in God’s ability to protect us. We do not have to live in constant fear of some future event which might endanger us. Our job is to make sure that we maintain a high level of internalized Holy Spirit. How do we do that? Ingestion of God’s word best accomplished during a daily quiet time. How’s that for an ounce of prevention. The alternative is to respond to the emergency after it occurs. Some make it and some don’t.

Banking 101

DateLine (7/21/05 – Green Pond, SC)

Whenever our family has encountered a crisis I’ve noticed an unusual dynamic at work. Just when we think it can’t get any worst or we’re right at the breaking point a message of encouragement seems to come right out of the blue. It’s always just what we need to hear right when we need to hear it. It’s delivered in the most unusual ways, more often than not from the lips or the pen of another sibling in Christ; a personal touch. During one of these times a few years back it seemed as if the messengers that delivered the most encouraging words were people that Harriett and I had had the opportunity to mentor in the Lord when they were in our Youth Group at Green Pond. It was during this time that I began to realize that God was in the banking business.

Over the years Harriett and I had made deposits from our accounts in the lives of many young people in that small church setting. Never could we have gone to a heavenly ATM and determined what our balance was or the value of the transactions. We always seemed to have enough left in our account to continue making the deposits even if occasionally we felt like we were running a little low.

We never received a statement, really didn’t think about it too much, but instinctively knew that out “bank” was looking after our interests and the interest of the individuals where we were making the deposits. At the same time we were withdrawing funds from our account to deposit in others, it seemed as if others were depositing in our interest bearing account. It was better than a retirement account because one doesn’t have to worry about the value being eroded by inflation and with God as our “fund manager” it’s definitely low risk with maximum earnings potential. The account is not federally guaranteed, its heavenly guaranteed, with unimaginable riches offered as collateral.

Now here’s the good part - You’ll never find a bank on this earth that will do this. God knows when we are nearing those breaking points, times like those that I referenced above. Just when that “bill” arrives at the “house” and we think it’s going to push us into emotional and physical bankruptcy, our “banker” makes a withdrawal from our account and puts it into our pocketbook. Just the right amount just when we need it. The fun part is the unpredictable methods and persons that he uses as the “courier.” Now that’s customer service. Banking 101 (i.e. God’s way) only has two requirements: 1) we must make deposits in the lives of others and 2) we must trust God that He’ll insure that our own account will never run dry. I strongly encourage you to start making your regular deposits now.

Out With A Bang

DateLine (7/13/05 – Richmond, Virginia)

I recently had the opportunity to see the just released on DVD movie Ocean’s 12 on an airplane trip. One of the members of the “gang” of expert thieves was an older “numbers” man who shared with his partners his philosophy of life. He stated, “My goal is to insure that the last check I write, bounces.” This story is fiction.

A couple of weeks ago while preparing for a Sunday School lesson I ran across this story. “A young pastor friend named Dan shared that his father had been very ill and had recently died. Dan’s father had been a strong Christian who modeled a Jesus – like attitude and behaviors in all areas of his life. He shared the story that his father had contracted a fast – moving form of melanoma and was told that he only had about one month to live. Just a few days before his death, Dan’s father asked to see Bob, his best friend for over twenty-five years. Although Dan’s father had repeatedly shared Christ with his friend, Bob had never accepted Jesus as Savior. When Bob arrived at the hospital, Dan’s dad asked to speak with him alone. Dan’s father once again shared how much God loved him and how Jesus had died on the Cross for his sins. There in that hospital room, Bob bowed his head and asked Jesus to forgive him and take control of his life. The next day, Dan’s father passed away, but that is not the end of the story. Before he died, Dan’s father had made one last request. He wanted Bob to be baptized as a part of his funeral service. What a legacy! Even at his funeral, this wonderful Christian man demonstrated his faith and his desire to lead others to know Jesus. He didn’t care about the spotlight shining on his life or his accomplishments. He wanted everyone to see what God had done in Bob’s life!” This story is fact.

I can’t imagine leaving this earth knowing that my existence had no eternal significance. What kind of legacy will you leave? I’d love to be like Dan’s father and go out with a bang.

Give Your Best

DateLine (7/6/05 - Ponce, Puerto Rico)

A pastor of a very large Baptist church in Houston Texas has a new book out entitled Your Best Life Now. Amazon.com has the following to say about the book; “Houston televangelist Joel Osteen is well qualified to write this book, having used the seven principles he shares to achieve his own "rags-to-riches" story. At the heart of Osteen’s message is that achieving a successful, prosperous life of fulfillment can only occur when we stop worrying.” Is this enticing statement a marketing ploy to get you to buy the book and thus adding another chapter to Joel Osteen’s own rag-to-riches story or is this a clever way to attract the naturally curious mind to read the book and receive an introduction to an awesome God. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

Let me share something about prosperous living from my own experience. This is the year when Harriett and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary. We have had an incredibly rich life and I’m convinced it’s because early on God opened doors for us to service in the church and we accepted. The dimensions of the richness are expressed as deep friendships, intensely fulfilling responsibilities, and eye-witnesses to the amazing grace and love of our Savior as He worked in our lives and in the lives of those around us. These mutual experiences have provided a solid foundation to our own marriage relationship.

The Bible says in Proverbs 3:9; “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” If I synthesize our experience down to the essentials here’s what I see. Wealth of all forms is from God. He trusts us with as much of that wealth as He sees fit and determines the level of trust by observing if we are willing to give Him back the best portion of the wealth. Our giving to him the best portion is a faith statement on our part that He will continue to give us as much as we need for the long haul. And so the cycle of life repeats and I’m convinced that in each cycle all the more rewarding.

It’s natural for us to want something form God. It’s supernatural for us to understand that in giving something to God we can expect so much more in return. I learned an old hymn when I was a child. It went like this, “Give of your best to the Master, give of the strength of your youth. Clad in salvation’s full armor, join in the battle for truth.” Your prosperous life is waiting for you – go for it!