One inch from death.

2 Corinthians 6:1-2King James Version (KJV)

6 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

This morning, as I was getting ready for church, I saw something that needed to be corrected quickly. I had the water running while I was shaving. Our sink drains slowly, so water tends to fill up quickly with the water running. Beside the sink is a gift my wife received recently. It's a wax melting thingy that keeps the wax hot, thereby releasing a sweet smell into the air. 

What I noticed was that the plugged in and in use chord to this thing was hanging down into the sink (the on/off switch is on the chord and it was that switch that was lower most in the sink). The water level had risen to a point where it was about 1 inch from the switch. If not corrected, there is a possibility that one of the times I dipped my razor into the water to rinse it, I could be severely electrically shocked- maybe unto death. 

I corrected the problem, but the thought hit me that we, as humans, all live our lives every day one inch from death. Any moment something could happen and our lives could be snuffed out: a car accident, an allergic reaction, a crazy gunman while your shopping, even a freak electrical accident. Anything could happen at any time.

Are we ready to meet Jesus today?

We all seem to carry a lot of baggage that we don't need to carry. 

Brother so and so hurts our feelings. A wife offends us. A husband disappoints his wife. A child says something hurtful to his parents. The boss treats us wrong. God doesn't answer us in the way we wish and we even get upset with him. 

The Lord's prayer tells us to forgive others. More than that, it tells us to ask God to help us to forgive others. It matters not the offence. It matters not who the offender is. We are called to forgive. If we do not, it will weigh us down. 

When we refuse to forgive, we start to turn angry inside. Anger leads to bitterness. Bitterness will destroy us. We must ask God to help us forgive others and ask him to dig out that root of bitterness. And we must do it today- now! 

We are not promised tomorrow. We are not promised another second. We must release the pain and hurt into the hands of God and let him deal with those that hurt us. We must learn to walk in forgiveness.

God forgave us. Can we not forgive others? We cannot be like the unrighteous servant who was forgiven the millions he owed, but refused to forgive the hundreds his fellow servant owed. If we are, we will be lost.

Only our forgiving others will enable the master healer to work on our hearts and heal us. Then, he can help us to experience his joy and peace- even in the midst of the storm. 

Please, my friend, forgive. 

 Hebrews 12:1

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Lord, help us to forgive others as you have forgiven us. 

A little good news on the journey. Help for the wounded warrior.

Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Life is tough. Becoming a Christian does not change this fact. To hear many of the modern scholars tell it, if you're a Christian and you're having troubles, then you have either sinned, or your faith isn't where it should be. 

While it is true that, when we sin, we do bring extra trials on ourselves, it is not true that all our trials are as a result of our own sin. In fact, Peter tells us to: 

" think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." (1 Peter 4:12-13)

In spite of today's "fell good" false prophets, Peter tells us that life- even with Jesus- is going to be a long, hard journey. There will be hard times. There will be battles. There will be times where you want to throw in the proverbial towel and walk away. 

All along the way the enemy of our souls is trying to get us to do just that. He fights us directly. He lays traps for us. He makes other paths that cross ours look larger, easier, and nicer- tempting us to step off the path God has placed us on. 

But, remember, our attitude is to be one of thankfulness. Thankfulness for our salvation. Thankfulness for his provision. Thankfulness for the strength to make just the next mile stone, or even the next step. "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartlily, as to the Lord..." (Colossians 3:23). 

God is watching. God is waiting. God is our ever present help in times of trouble. Notice here in Psalms 23:  "4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

In the midst of our trials, God is there to help. He brings comfort to our souls. How? Because he is our shepherd. Much has been made of how the shepherd uses his staffs to discipline wayward sheep- and he does. But, in this context, the staffs he uses are not sticks of discipline. Rather, they are weapons to ward off and defeat the attacks of our enemies! 

Yes, we do have to go through hard times, but we can take comfort in knowing that our shepherd only allows us to face what we can handle. He fights off what we cannot. He allows us to be pushed beyond what we think are our limits.

But, there comes a point where he will step in and put everything on hold: 

"5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." He stops the enemies in their tracks, looks at our tired and wounded souls and says, "You need a break."

And right there in the midst of our enemies (who are still chomping at the bit to finish us off), he prepares a feast for us. He takes time to kill the fatted calf and feed us what we need. He allows us time to rest and heal. He spends time encouraging and strengthening us. He holds us in his arms and mends our wounds. 

Isaiah 61 puts it this way: 

" 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."

This is not an exchange program. He doesn't sweep away the burned out ashes left from our fiery trials. He is not taking away our mourning. He's not dispelling the spirit of heaviness. 

Rather, while we are still in the ashes, he allows us to behold his beauty as a quiet balm to our bruised spirit. He pours that oil of joy on us to relieve some of our pressure and encourage us to fight on. He reminds us that we have things to be thankful for: his love and mercy, our families and friends, the provisions he gives us along the way. And we find ourselves throwing aside our dirty and tattered garments and replacing them with beautiful garments of praise. 

Why does he do all this? So, that the world will see that we are his planting. That we are strong trees of righteousness, standing tall in the storms, for all the world. Why? So that the worlds attention will be pointed squarely on the face of our God and he may be glorified. 

When we are going through a trial, remember he is watching and the world is watching. Know that at some point, in the midst of our storms, he will provide us with shelter, new strength, and rest. 

And when others say to you, "I can't believe you made it through all that." Just smile and point your finger to heaven and say, "Because HE lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know HE holds the future. And life is worth the living just because he lives!"  

How's your tire pressure?

The other day, I finally did what my wife and been after me to do for a long time: I checked the air in my tires. It turned out that, though the max load on the tires is 44 PSI, all four of my tires were somewhere between 18 and 26 PSI.

With the air so low in my tires, you felt every pebble in the road. It makes it harder to steer the car as we traveled to and fro. It takes away some of the cushion that is needed and can cause extra wear and tear on the suspension system and the breaks. It can also damage your motor mounts.

When I filled the tires up to 40 PSI, it was amazing the difference! The pebbles aren't noticed. The steering is MUCH easier. I'm sure that it is easier on the breaks and suspension, not to mention the motor mounts.

Ok, brother Winskie, thanks for the car lesson, but what does this have to do with anything?

Thanks for asking.

When Jesus prophesied over his disciples about receiving the Holy Ghost, " And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (John 20:22)" 

In other words, "Boy's, I'm gonna put air in your tires!" This was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4: "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

But, was this a one time experience? No. Three times in the first four chapters of Acts, we read of the apostles being filled with the spirit. The initial infilling is great! But, scripture admonishes us many times to be "filled with the spirit." 

Why? Because if our spiritual tires are full, then every little pebble life throws our way won't be felt. If our spiritual tires are full, we may hit a pot hole, but the blow will be cushioned and we won't feel it as much. Of course, if our tires are low and we hit a pot hole, we may find ourselves stranded on the side of the road with a flat (or worse!). 

Romans admonishes us: But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:9)

If we do not get filled with the spirit of God, we can't even make the journey to heaven because our tires are flat. 

If we do not stay filled with his spirit, we can cause irreparable harm to our spiritual car- even damaging our motor mounts and effecting many other aspects of our lives. 

So, my friends, it is not only required to be filled with the spirit when we are born again, it is also necessary to keep an eye on our  spiritual "air pressure". This way we can make and finish the journey home that the Lord would have us make. 

The alternative is to be left stranded on the side of the road- or worse: We could be killed in an accident and never make it to the finish line.

The choice is ours: ."And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." (Ephesians 5:18)

God bless!