Month: January 2025

A sluggard’s life is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. Proverbs 13:4

Last week while walking our dog, Rocco, on a gravel path, I suddenly felt a familiar pain in my foot, and I knew there was a small rock in my shoe. Every time I took a step, there was that irritating rock causing me pain. I had a decision to make. I could either stop right there, sit down, take my shoe off and remove the rock, or I could just ignore the whole situation. The smart solution would be to remove the rock, but I decided to procrastinate and keep going because “how bad can it get?”

I took another few steps and with each one, the pain just became worse, so I sat down, ripped the shoe off, and removed the rock! The pain was immediately gone, and I had to wonder why I waited so long to act on the small things in life that annoy me??

Procrastination is defined as the action of delaying or postponing something. A recent survey of Americans found that only 10% of us say we struggle with procrastination. The other 90% never got around to filling out the survey!! Most of us are just like me and the rock when it comes to dealing with hurtful things which keep coming up in our lives. It just seems easier to “think about that tomorrow”, or just keep promising ourselves that we will deal with the issue “one of these days.”

In the Bible, every plague God sent on Egypt mocked one of their gods. For instance, the Egyptians deified lice, so God sent them a lot of the lice and added frogs. Finally, Pharoah called for Moses and said, “All right, I give up.” But when Moses asked, “When do you want me to get rid of the frogs?” Pharoah’s answer was classic procrastination. He said, “Tomorrow.”

Just like Pharoah, many times we put off the changes or actions that we know would be good for us. We all have some things in our lives that we are procrastinating about changing. Why? Maybe we are afraid of what the changes will entail. Maybe we are just too lethargic to go ahead and just do it. Maybe we are too proud or stubborn to jump in and fix it. Whatever the reason, just like that rock in my shoe, the issue won’t go away unless we decide to act on it.

Take forgiveness for example. We all have hurts in our lives which eat away at us every day. The greater the offense, the harder it is to forgive, but we must, otherwise the hurt is like an albatross around our neck. It is said that we only hurt ourselves when we procrastinate the act of forgiving. Someone once said that “refusing to forgive is like eating poison and expecting the other person to die!”

There are several reasons that we procrastinate. First, is indecision. Whenever we have a had time making up our mind, the easiest thing is to wait. Today with all the choices we have in life, there’s always the decision to procrastinate. The second reason is perfectionism. We tend to set such a high standard for ourselves, and if we can’t do something perfectly, we don’t do it at all.

Next, we procrastinate because of fear. Whenever we are afraid of failing at something, we tend to put it off. Passive aggressiveness is a big reason we procrastinate. We wait to do something to exercise our control over others. Kids do this with parents all the time. When we tell them to clean their rooms, the answer is usually, “In a minute.”

Finally, we procrastinate because we are lazy. The world of today wants everything to come easy. We don’t want to have to work too hard to achieve anything. Proverbs tells us that “lazy people want much, but they get little.” Procrastinators limit their potential, wipe out opportunites, and presume on the future. No one is guaranteed tomorrow to get things done.

Procrastination prevents us from acting on the opportunites God sends our way and making the most of it. In short, when opportunity knocks, we have to open the door. I wonder how many opportunties we have lost because we have procrastinated. These opporunities to make a difference in a relationship, in another person’s life, or in the world should never be missed.

Rather than spending another day with a rock in our shoe, deal with it and enjoy the day!

Procrastination is my sin. It brings me naught but sorrow. I know that I should stop it. In fact I will – tomorrow. Gloria Pitzer

You sent help more than once. Philippians 4:16

One of the favorite books we teachers love to share with our classes is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Although the book is a little beyond the comprehension of a young child, it teaches a valuable lesson, and it usually inspires a time for discussion. The book is the story of a young boy and the apple Tree who have a wonderful friendship, but as the boy grows, things change. The boy becomes so preoccupied with earning money and building a successful life for himself, that he forgets all about the Tree and the friendship they shared.

I like the way Charles Swindoll summarizes the story. “When the boy was young, he swung from the tree’s branches, ate her apples, and slept in her shade, but as he grew up, he spent less and less time with the tree. ‘Come on, let’s play,’ said the tree, but the young man was only interested in money. ‘Take all my apples and sell them,’ said the tree. The young man did, and the tree was happy.

The tree didn’t see him for a long time, but one day, the tree smiled when he walked past. He was no longer a boy, but a man. The man was older and tired of the world, and he wanted to get away from it all. ‘Cut me down, take my trunk, build a boat, and you can sail away,’ the tree suggested. The man did, and the tree was happy. Many seasons passed, and the tree waited. Finally, the old man returned, too old to play, pursue riches, or sail the seas. ‘I have a pretty good stump left,’ said the tree. Sit down and rest.’ The old man did, and the tree was happy.” The tree had given all it had to give in order to make his friend happy.

Just like the boy in the story who quickly forgot his friendship with the tree and how much the tree had done for him, we as Christians fall into the same trap. How quickly we forget the people who have given of themselves so that we might grow, accomplish our goals, and find wholeness and satisfaction in this life.

Today we celebrate two events in our country (three if we count the footbal national championship game which many of our friends celebrate.} First, we remember Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contributions to the American Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s. His I Have a Dream speech, delivered in 1963, spoke of a United States that is void of segragation and racism. Although we have made tremendous strides, do we remember his legacy today or is it just a holiday? How quickly we forget!

Next, today we inaugurate our 47th President of the United States at precisely 12 noon. Donald J Trump takes the oath of office and begins his four year term shortly. The United States Consitution outlines precisely the ceremony and celebration. How quickly we can forget all the founders, leaders, public servants, and men and women who have brought us to this place. Thank you, Lord, for each one!

When we review our lives thinking about the young boy and the tree, we can identify with both. How many giving trees have there been in our lives? How many people have contributed in different ways to mold and make us. How quickly we forget!

It’s sad that many times it takes losing someone to help us remember all the ways they helped us and those we love. When our Daddy died, I was amazed at all the stories that people told of the things he had done for them in small ways, and the love and respect they had for him!

As a teacher, the best times are those in which former students tell you how much you have meant to them over the years and recall pleasant memories. In the ministry, the best of times is when kids that you have baptized, confirmed, and married present their children for baptism with hopes of continuing the tradition. It’s affirming to see the love and dedication in action.

The Giving Tree teaches us to care for others and be grateful for all our loved ones, friends, and even strangers and the things they have done for us. We learn of the value of generosity and forgivness as well as the dangers of greed and ambition. In our scripture, Paul remembers those who helped him, and so should we.

Sam Halversen sang this song on most confirmation Sundays as a way of thanking all the Sunday School teachers, choir leaders, and confirmation leaders, and the following chorus is worth remembering. How Quickly We Can Forget!

Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed. Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am so glad you gave. Thank You by Ray Boltz

In Christ, we though many, form one body. Romans 12:5

This past week, I got a call from my back door neighbor saying that there was deer in her back yard who seemed to be unable to walk. Deer pass through our yards frequently because the yards are wooded and the foliage is tempting. They feast on our plants, sleep in our leaves, and seem comfortable to share the yards with us. This time was different. The doe seemed to have a broken leg, and we were concerned that she would die unless she got assistance.

My neighbor called the Office of the Game Warden and was put on “the list” (evidently there are many animals needing assistance especially in the winter). In the meantime, my neighbor tried to get food to the doe, and when I offered to bring a blanket, we suddenly realized that we were pretty unskilled in this area.

When the Game Warden arrived and approached the doe, she got up and limped away. The good news is that her leg wasn’t broken, but rather the injury was probably from a wire fence. There was no evidence of other deer near the area, so we reasoned that because of the injury, she had gone AWOL from her herd.

The term AWOL is an acronym of the miitary phrase “Absent WithOut Leave”, and it is used commonplace to refer to someone when we don’t know where they are. I wonder if our doe went AWOL because she couldn’t keep up with the rest of the herd?

The encounter with the doe brought a touch of reality to me as I thought of all the many homeless people who are AWOL and struggling to live in this world of today. There was a time when we, as Christians and churches, made it a priority to care for them. We picked them up in buses and brought them to our facility where we fed them, offered them a safe place to spend the night, and ministered to their needs while they were with us. We cared for them. At some point, that ministry went AWOL, and people chose to move on to something else.

The Bible describes the Christian life in war terms such as: fight, conquer, strive, battle, overcome, victory. When we become a Christian, we become a member of God’s army, and we are thrust into a spiritual battle whether we realize it or not. What would happen if service men and women went to the recruiting office to join the military with the following attitude. The recruiter says, “Wonderful, now sign here.” The applicant says, “Wait a minute, I have a stipulation. I don’t want to be committed to any particular platoon, no certain group of soldiers, and if I’m unhappy, I want to be able to go AWOL, and join a platoon of my choosing.” Would anyone want to fight next to this kind of soldier?”

This past week, we have all been shocked at the devastation of the fires in Los Angeles and the Pacific Palisades. The fires have burned thousands of acres of land containing thousands of homes. Lives have been lost, and people who lived in beautiful homes suddenly find themselves homeless. Many of these people lost homes that have been in their family for hundreds of years. and they don’t have the insurance to rebuild. At some point, the county government seems to have gone AWOL allowing incompetence to take over where common sense should prevail.

There are groups of people who make little or no committment to their Christian faith, their church, or their God. While the battle in this world is being fought, they are AWOL. There is no such thing as a believer who can float from one belief to another in the Bible. We, as Christians, sign on to be committed to one another and fight the war together no matter the circumstances. We don’t go AWOL.

Christians go AWOL for many reasons. It can be because we didn’t learn the basics of the faith. It can be because we forget the things we learned in the training manual, better known as the Bible, which gives us the information we need to keep from being defeated. It can be because we forget to stay in touch with the commander and chief who gives us courage for each day. We could have put off staying in shape by exercising the laws of the scripture that will keep us attuned to His love. We forget that God has provided us with spiritual weapons and we need to use them. We forget to work with our fellow soldiers. Teamwork makes dreams come true. Finally, we neglect devotion to our Commander. When we love Him, He will never forsake us.

What responsibilities does God place on us as Christians in His army? First, we must allow ourselves to feel concern and compassion. Second, we must get out of our comfort zone and do something about it!

Jesus said, By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, If you love one another. (John 13:35) We can’t love in absentia. The Book of James says the idea of faith without works is dead. God’s army needs people in His army who form one body, and don’t go AWOl!!

For Whoever would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, let him turn away from evil and do good, let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. 1 Peter 3: 10-11

A boy asked his father, “Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb hanging over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?” His dad replied, “Two.” “No,” the son replied. “There are three frogs and one decides to jump. How many are left?” “Oh,” the dad replied, “I get it. If one decides to jump, the others would, too, so there are none left.” The boy said, “No, Dad, the frog only decided to jump, so there are three left.”

If that story sounds familiar, it’s probably because many times we decide to do important things in our lives or in the lives of others, but months after the decision, we are still “hanging out on the limb”. We are just like Charlie Brown when he said to Lucy, “You are going to be so proud of me because I have decided that next year is going to be my year of decision.”

It is said that to reach an important decision, we need to figure out what’s the most important goal or idea and push everything else aside. Then, after the decision is made, write it down, and check it off when it’s accomplished. If we constantly wait to act on decisions we have made, we could actually miss the most important changes in life.

This past week has brought much pain to our country, and it has devastated many who lost a loved one and whose lives are changed forever. We woke up on January 2 to the news of yet another act of violence, this time in New Orleans, where at least 14 people were killed and many more injured. What makes a person commit such an act? What happened along his life’s path to bring him to this point? After identifing the assailant, the people close to him told the press, “This is not the man we knew.”

At some point, this man who was born in Texas, a US Army veteran, and a professional made an important decision in his life. He reacted to things which were going wrong for him, maybe he chose to listen to bad advice, and instead of figuring out what was the most important thing, he acted on his hatred, dissatisfaction, or whatever else it might be. He chose to take the lives of innocent people as a way of showing his discontent.

Contrast this event with a different person and a different life. On Sunday of last week, we lost former President Jimmy Carter, a man of great integrity, a peacemaker, a great humanitarin, and a Christian. President Carter was someone who showed consistency in character in all circumstances, someone who always played by the rules, someone who could be relied upon, someone who always offered credit where credit was due, someone who lived by his faith, and someone who trusted God to enable him to accomplish all that he was called upon to do. No matter the different political thoughts about him, President Carter made important decisions early in his life which enabled him to be a man of great character. I am certain he wasn’t always treated fairly, but his Christian background enabled him to make the right decisions along the way.

A decision is defined as a conclusion or resolution reached after consideration. The contrast between the men who made these important decisions is astounding. One made the decision to act selfishly and with malice toward innocent people; the other made the decision to live a life helping and serving others. The difference is a life lived with and for Christ.

We probably all have important decisions that are waiting to be made in our lives. If the Lord were to ask each of us, “What important decisions have been made in the last year to love life and see good days? How have we decided to spread good instead of evil? How have we helped ourselves and others to seek peace and pursue it?” How would we answer?

The most important decision we can make is to know Jesus Christ and to have a reationship with him that brings glory to Him. When we make that decision, then we will want to do as much good as we can for Him and for others.

This new year presents an unwritten page in our book of time. We can fill the page with unfulfilled decisions, or we can fill it with important decisions made and fulfilled. The decision to seize the opportunity to practice all the good we can for all the people we can for as long as we can is the most important decision.