The Keyless Remote

Recently I went to a friend's house to work on a project. We have spent several weeks working on the same project, so today was like another ordinary day working on this project with my friend. However, this day turned into quite an extraordinary
day like no other day.

As we sat at my friend's dining room table working on the plans for our project we were quite impressed with our progress. Things were going smoothly until it was time for me to leave.

When I went to start my car I realized that I did not have my car keys.
My friend and I searched both the car and her house for close to a hour looking for my keys.

After carefully retracing my steps that I
had taken prior to leaving my house
I realized that I had left home without them. Because I had started the car prior to going back into the house to retrieve a forgotten item the car was able to run without the key because of the keyless remote. I could get where I needed to go and do the things that I needed to do as long as the car was running, as soon as I turn off the motor the car will not restart again unless I have the key.

Our lives are very similar to my car experience, we can get to where we need to be and do the things that we need to do, but eventually God stops us and reminds us that he is our key and our guide to future travels.

It tells us in Psalms 48:14 "For this
God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end."
Once I shut off my engine my car would no longer run without the key.

Thank heavens that our God is a God who never leaves us or forsakes us even when we have forgotten him. However, he often shuts us down and stops us from running for a short
period of time until we return to him and realize that he is the only key that we will ever need.

Pushing the Shopping Cart

The other day I sat in the parking lot of Cosco's waiting for my sister-in-law. As I sat waiting for her I noticed a small boy pushing a cart heavily laden with groceries. Behind him was a man that I assumed was his father. As the little boy struggled with pushing the cart across the parking lot using all the effort that he could muster I watched as the man walked closely behind him being sure not to move to far away just in case his son needed his assistance.

As the two of them passed in front of my car I had the opportunity to see the
expression on their faces. The father smiled and gave words of encouragement and the little boy had a look of determination that indicated that he was determined to see the task through.

Sometimes we forget the importance of what having a good cheerleader can do to boost our confidence and give us that extra push when the cart gets heavy. Acts 11:25-26 tells us about how Barnabas (The Son of Encouragement) met with the people of Antioch for an entire year to give themwords of encouragement about Christ. Because of Barnabas' words the people of Antioch were the first to be called Christians.

Who knows what that father could be spurning on in his son with his simple words of encouragement. Today a grocery cart, but tomorrow who knows?

It's Ok to let go of the Polka Dot Coffee Mugs

Several years ago I bought a set of twelve polka dot coffee mugs. I loved these mugs. Every morning when I arrived at my kitchen cabinet a bright, shiny coffee mug of either red, blue or black polka dot would be there to greet me.

Over the last several years I have begun losing several of my favorite mugs. Handles have been broken, chips have appeared and now I am down to only eight perfect coffee mugs that have managed to remain intact.

I never really thought about how significant a coffee mug was until I started thinking about somethings in my life that God has decided to either chip away, crack or completely destroy. He doesn't want us to hold on to the old things in our lives in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul tells the Corinthians "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!"

Over the years that I have had my polka dot coffee mugs I have enjoyed them, but there are a whole new set of coffee mugs that are just as bright and cheerful just waiting for the purchase. Just as there is new life waiting in Christ, He's just waiting for us to throw away what's cracked and broken.

The Pizza Boy Looked Distressed

It had been an ordinary day, spent doing laundry, cleaning the house and taking my son to the orthodontist; nothing out of the ordinary. I had managed to get all but two loads of laundry completed,this was a major accomplishment for my day.The day before my son and I were having a discussion about service.I told him how blessed his father would be if he came home and the lawn had been mowed, his room was cleaned and the trash had been taken out all without having to be told to do these things.His answer to this question was to simply agree, however there wasn't a lot of movement toward performing any of those tasks without prompting.

Later that same day we were on our way to bible study, as we stopped at a red light we looked over to see a young pizza delivery boy. As both of our cars sat waiting for the light to change I noticed something about the continence of the young pizza delivery boy, he seemed distressed and upset, as though he was having a very rough day. As we drove to our destination I began to thing about Paul's words in Colossians 3:17, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Paul tells us this again in Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."

Later that evening God reminded me of what he had shared with me earlier that day, he wants us to take pleasure in doing those ordinary things like laundry, cleaning and delivering pizza.Our real reward will not come from what man sees, but what God sees and knows. I sat thinking about the young pizza boy, I prayed that he would find joy in his next pizza delivery; I sat looking at the folded loads of laundry washed earlier that day. These ordinary things took on a new meaning.If God gives me tomorrow, I will finish the rest of the laundry, it will be the best laundry that I have ever completed, because I will be washing for the joy of the Lord!

When the Thrift Shop Rice Cooker Doesn't work.

Recently I visited a little thrift shop down the street from my girlfriend's bakery. In the past I have found some great buys there. Prior to my visit I has mentioned to my girlfriend that I would really like to purchase a rice cooker. She had mentioned that cooking rice in a rice cooker really did improve the texture and taste of whole grain organic rice. She had recently purchased one for 10.00 at the local grocery store. As I browsed in the thrift shop, I spotted a little rice cooker all for the amazing price of 7.00.What a bargain, at least that is what I thought at the time.

That night I decided to treat my family to a culinary delight using the new thrift shop rice cooker. To my surprise the rice cooker failed to perform, the controls would only work on warm and the rice was left uncooked and soaking in water.To my disappointment I was forced to return to the old fashion way of cooking rice on the stove.

What I thought was a bargain really wasn't a bargain at all.The expression, "You get what you pay for" came to my mind.I also I thought about what God tells us in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No One comes to the father except through me."We often try to find short cuts in life. My thrift shop rice cooker was no bargain, life without Christ is no bargain either, we are often left unfulfilled and soaking in sin.When it came to saving I spent more than I saved. When we live a life without Christ we are shopping at the thrift shop and we might end up with a broken rice cooker.

"Don't Leave me"

Today was our annual church picnic.We have had the picnic in the same location for the past several years.  Each year when it is time for me to travel to the location I follow my girl friend and her husband to the park. They have consistently teased me about my lack of a sense of direction; in fact my girl friend jokingly told me that she was having a tee shirt made for me that would say, "Don't Leave me." This is what I consistently say to them as we travel to the park, them in their car and me in mine.

I know that they will not leave me even if I fall behind in traffic, they will pull over to the side of the road and wait until I catch up.They will see me safely to my destination. The friends that I have will get behind me and lead me down the right path until I reach the chosen destination. Even though they often tease me about my lack of direction, they never look at my limitations as a weakness or a fault.

This is what God does for us, In Joshua 1:5 God tells Joshua, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." He does for me what my good friends do for me, he stays besides me, leading me down the right path, safely seeing me to the destination that he has for me.  He pulls over to the side of the road and waits for me when I get caught up and traffic and have lost my way. Jesus is my friend who will never leave me.