Moving Right Along

We had several heavy but local rainstorms yesterday afternoon. That always brings out woodland creatures that you may not see on a daily basis. Coming home last night, I saw quite a few frogs hopping across the road. This morning, as we left to go to Decatur, TN, where my men’s chorus was singing, we saw an Eastern box turtle just beginning to work its way across the road in the opposite lane. It is a dangerous undertaking for a turtle, crossing the road.

Squirrels and rabbits are fleet of foot and can quickly get out of the roadway, although they confuse easily and not infrequently reverse course right in front of you. Even raccoons and possums move quickly enough that, if they choose to, they can make it to a ditch fairly easily. But a turtle? If it even notices the car coming, its only possible response is to duck into its shell. Their self defense manuals don’t have a chapter on dealing with fast moving automobiles. So, whenever feasible, I will stop and move turtles to the side of the road they appeared to be heading toward. But sometimes, because of traffic or other circumstances, I can’t. This morning I couldn’t, and I commented to my wife as we continued on, “That may be a dead turtle when we come back this afternoon.”

There are several reasons I said what I did. First of all, on twisting, bobbing side roads like we were on, a person may not see a turtle in time to avoid hitting it. On the other hand, many drivers don’t really consider turtles to be objects to be avoided, and rather than swerving around them, they’ll hit the turtle if it is in their path. Even worse, there have been times I’ve seen drivers actually swerve to intentionally hit the turtle. That is being downright cruel, in my opinion.

There are some folks that are, in ways, like turtles. Nice to have around, quietly contributing what they can, inoffensive, perhaps a little slow in response, not prepared to put up much of a fight. It may be that they’ve always been that way; sometimes they’re that way because they’ve been beaten down too many times already. As we “drive” our lives around in this world, how do we respond to these people?

They may be students we work with in our schools; maybe they are members of our church. You may know one at work; I may rub shoulders with one in the store or the mall. But they’re there. As “drivers” on the road of life, do we have any responsibility toward them?

Have you ever stopped what you were doing to help one reach a goal? Have you ever made the effort to get out of the way of one (swerve around him or her) as they plodded on their way? Or have you or I, unthinkingly, stepped on their toes, or crushed them a bit by something we said or did? God have mercy on us if we have ever intentionally run one down for our own personal pleasure.

I would not denigrate anyone by equating them with a turtle. But the point remains: there are those out there who are all too often at the mercy of others. May we lovingly watch out for them. Our Elder Brother would want us to.

The turtle we saw this morning apparently made it OK. Now, get out of your shell and get moving!

Dr. G

Did Katy?

It has finally cooled off enough in this part of the country so that we can open our windows at night to get some fresh air. I grew up in a home in a part of the country where it cooled off at night, and the thermostat was turned down at night. I prefer sleeping in a cool room. But with the cost of energy so high, it is prohibitively expensive to set the air conditioner for 65 or lower at night here in the south. So the cooler weather is welcome. The past few nights I've had my bedroom windows wide open, much to my enjoyment.

Late summer and early fall is also the time for katydids, a form of tree-dwelling grasshopper. So, with lots of trees around the house, I could hear them calling quite clearly last night through my open window. If you live in a part of the country that doesn't have katydids, or have never heard them, believe me when I tell you that a handful of them outside your bedroom window at night can keep you awake with their three-syllable call: "KATYDID, KATYDID, KATYDID."

As I listened to them last night, I suddenly became aware that one of the several cricket species in this area was answering with its two-syllable call: "GUILTY!, GUILTY!, GUILTY!" And there I lay, listening to a chorus of "KATY DID, GUILTY!; KATY DID, GUILTY!; KATY DID, GUILTY!" Occasionally, just to be contrary, one would add some doubt to the chorus by slipping in a four-syllable "KATY DIDN'T!" I wondered what Katy could have done to get a whole chorus of accusers.

Have you ever had a chorus of accusers? Sometimes, only one accuser, if he or she keeps it up long enough, can become like a chorus in the mind. A person who is continually accused, whether guilty or not, is likely to become somewhat depressed by the sound of "HE DID IT, GUILTY!" or "SHE DID IT, GUILTY!" Lord, keep me from becoming part of the accusing chorus.

You know, the Scriptures point out that, spiritually, we're all guilty. None of us come close to the glory of God. There is not one of us righteous on our own; as Paul points out, "No, not one!" I need to take up the refrain of the lost sheep: "HERE I AM, FIND ME; HERE I AM, FIND ME." That is a call that will never go unanswered by the Great Shepherd. Call on His name, and you shall be saved. That is all Peter had time to do as he began to slip beneath the waves: "Lord, Save me!"

So when you or I hear a chorus of accusers, whether they be human or imps of Satan (the Great Accuser of the bretheren), they need not depress us or cause us fear. The Gentle Shepherd has His arms around us. All is well.

In the big picture, ignore the accusers. They are but short-lived insects. If we cling to Christ, you and I can be eternal-lived!

Have a great day. By the way, don't forget to close the windows before you leave for work!

Dr. G

Have You Felt His Staff Lately?

We have a week-long book fair twice a year at our school. During the fall fair, the teachers are encouraged to dress up as characters from children’s literature. Last year, on that day, a passage of scripture passed through my mind: “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” Written by a former shepherd, I tried to envision a rod or staff as being “comforting”. If David had written, “Thy rod and thy staff, they direct me,” or “The rod and thy staff, they guide me, “or even, “Thy rod and thy staff, they discipline me,” I could easily picture what he was talking about. But comfort? And why did I think of that verse that day?

I had several ideas for a costume, but chose one that my daughter had made me a number of years earlier when we were planning on attending an annual medieval festival in the Atlanta, Georgia, area. The first time we went, I had mentioned in response to the ribaldry and off-color comments of many of the performers, “What they need around here is a good friar.” So my daughter got out the material, needle and thread, and made me the friar’s costume. Due to rain, we never made it back to the festival, so the hooded robe, belt and money bag went into storage in the depths of my closet. Then five years later came the opportunity, and I went to the book fair as Friar Tuck from Robin Hood.

Not surprisingly, the most frequently asked question was, “Who are you?” Few of the children had ever heard of Robin Hood. Some thought I was one of the Jedi from Star Wars; some thought I was the grim reaper (I really startled one of our teachers when I stood in her doorway without her knowing I was there. When she turned around and first saw me, she thought her time had come!) Some students suggested Moses, a prophet, or a shepherd. A few even thought I was from Harry Potter. Nobody thought of Friar Tuck, much to my dismay.

The second most frequently asked question, one that I still can not comprehend, was “Can I touch your stick?” (I had brought my long walking stick as part of the costume). Why were they so desirous of touching or holding the walking stick? I mean, it is about five and a half feet tall, carved into a mild irregular spiral, stained ebony and polished smooth, but nothing special. That is all it was, a piece of lodgepole pine from Colorado. But I watched amazed as child after child came up to stroke the stick or wrap their fingers about it for a moment. And then they would leave quite happy, even satisfied, perhaps even fulfilled. I was astounded. Is there something about a staff or rod that God’s lambs find comforting?

I’ve tried to think of a way in which a shepherd could use his staff that the sheep would find to be “comforting”. The closest I can come is this: Christ refers to His sheep as knowing Him, and following Him wherever He goes. In other words, they want to be with Him. Is it possible that the shepherd can reach out gently with his staff; touching the sheep to let them know He is there? Is the rod symbolic of His love, perhaps a physical extension of it in David’s usage? That makes sense to me. His love reaching out to me surely is comforting, even as the children found touching and feeling my walking stick brought them happiness that day.

In Robin Hood, the staff was often used as a weapon, for striking an opponent or enemy. In Christ’s hands, it is a thing of peace and comfort. Which use do you like best?

May His staff bring you comfort and cheer this week!

Dr. G

Know Where You're Going?

My wife and I like to go for car rides. When we first got married, we’d just take off in the afternoons, alternating who'd get to choose which way to go at intersections. There wasn’t much danger in getting lost as we did this. We were in the Walla Walla Valley in southeastern Washington State, and we could always get our bearings by looking at the Blue Mountains. These form the eastern border of the area. Since the valley is all agricultural, we never had trouble finding the “Blues”.

When we moved to Ohio, where I attended university for my doctorate, we continued our roaming practice, although we had more trouble keeping our bearings. However, I quickly developed a good sense of the placement of major highways, and we never did get lost. We did find ourselves to be quite some distance from home several times, however.

We have sort of continued this practice down through the years, although to a much lesser extent once the children came along. But when they headed off to college, we began it again. Only a few years ago, we took off early one Saturday afternoon, headed sort of northward, partly on Interstate, and partly on side roads. About nine o’clock in the evening, we stopped for gas, and I suggested we’d better head for home. As we took stock of things, we realized we were closer to her sister’s house in Maryland than we were to our house. I will only say that her sister lives a little more than 600 miles from us. After considering the possibilities for a short while, we called her sister and asked her to put the key under the doormat. When you’re not paying close attention to where you’re going, you can get quite a ways from home without too much effort.

There was a Bible character that did pay attention to where he was going. He always had a good guide along with him. One day, after walking for some time with the guide, the Guide said, “Hey, Enoch. We’re a lot closer to my place than yours. Why not come home with Me tonight?”

Of course, that’s probably not exactly how it happened. But the scriptures do say that Enoch walked with God, and God took him (home). Can you imagine knowing God so well that whenever you went out for a walk, He was there to walk with you, ready to converse, ready to teach, ready to be a friend?

But, wait a minute! He is always there, walking with us, ready to converse, ready to teach, ready to be a friend. The problem is that, like my wife and me that day a few years ago, we’re simply not paying attention. All you and I need to do is to desire and acknowledge His presence, and we’ll have a traveling companion for life – both lives in fact: life on this earth and life everlasting. Hard to beat a deal like that!

Would you like to fill ‘er up?

Dr. G

Got a Muddy Pond?

We live in a fairly rural setting. If a person drives on most any road in our neighborhood, he or she will pass through many wooded areas and drive by many pastures or houses on 3-5 acre tracts. It is like that all the way to where my wife works, and almost all the way to where I work. We really enjoy it out here. Traffic is light; the nearest stoplight is about five miles away, and, unless it is cloudy, the stars always shine brightly at night, inviting one to look up into the heavens and think of God.

I’ve noticed that there are lots of ponds out here, too. Almost all of them are man-made, although not far from our place there is a pond (more of a swampy marsh, now) that was built by beavers a number of years ago.

Most of the ponds were created by putting a low dam across a stream as it crossed the property-owner’s land. There are a few I’ve seen which were built around or at the mouths of small springs. A few consist of holes dug in the ground where the water table isn’t far below the surface. Seepage fills these. A few ponds depend on run-off from eroded hillsides, so are constantly receiving the flow of muddy water.

It is hard to find any of these ponds that are filled with semi-clear water. A few are fed by a fairly good sources of water, and there is overflow, so that there is turn-over of the ponds’ water. Most of these ponds, however, are in the cattle fields, so even though there is the potential for clear water, the cows and/or horses keep the water stirred up and muddy most of the time.

Since the majority of the ponds rely on scant inflow and rarely have any outflow, during the summer they tend to get a lot of algae covering them. The water in these ponds obviously is quite stagnant and, to my mind, repugnant, even without the thought of cows wading in to keep cool.

Our spiritual hearts are not unlike ponds. Without an inflow of water, they will dry up and shrivel. A trickle of water might keep the water level full, but the thoughts of the heart will become filled with a mass of algae if there is not an abundant flow of water. Is it possible to have beasts wading in our hearts, muddying up the water? Of course. Is it possible that the only water flowing in is already so dirty the pond of the heart can never become clean?

I’ve occasionally seen some of the owners go out to clean their ponds. They may drain them, scrape out the mud, put in new inflow and outflow pipes. Others may apply coloring agents and chemicals to settle the suspended particles and kill the algae. But in a few months, the ponds look like they did before.

The only way to have a clean pond is to have a strong inflow of clean water, and a strong outflow. The same is true with our spiritual hearts. It doesn’t do much good for the Lord to come in and clean the heart unless we pass on the fresh water He sends. The only way to keep from becoming spiritually stagnant is to become active in sharing the water that enters our lives. In essence, the Lord wants us to be passage ways for His love rather than storage facilities. So, check the source of water coming into your spiritual life, and if you need to change it, do so. And make sure the outflow matches or, better yet, exceeds the inflow. And keep Satan’s cows away.

You do know how to string barbed-wire, don’t you?

Dr. G

Heard Any Good Myths Lately?

There have been lots of myths down through the ages. How about the one of the earth being supported by a superman named Atlas? I’ve seen photos of earth from the moon, and guess what? No Atlas! Just a made-up story used to explain that which was not understood. How about the myth of Bigfoot? Another fancy of man’s imagination, based not on truth and fact, but on dreams and tales.
Of course you’ve heard of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. A mythical beast based upon old folk tales. But the interesting thing is that, down through the years, such tales have always had their supporters.

Then there are others: UFO’s have landed at Roswell, New Mexico, and the Bermuda Triangle isn’t a safe place to travel. Have you ever been told that bats will get caught in your hair? Or that you can get warts from handling toads? Our past is filled with myths. But what about our present and future?

I would invite you to consider several Bible passages. The first four deal with the fact that Christ's followers have been warned that at the time of His ministry and at the time of the end, religious myths would be offered up to those who were not wary:

Mark 7:7-8 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men..."

Matt 24:4-5, 11 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many…11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

Mark 13:22-23 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

2 Tim 4:3-4 for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

The other three passages give us clues on how to avoid being caught up by erroneous teachings, these myths and fables:

Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Acts 17:11 These (the Bereans) were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

The basic rule seems to be: test the teaching according to the scripture. You can find in the bookstores a vast number of books filled with the religious ideas of many authors. If you’ve perused more than a small handful, you will notice that there are points of disagreement between them. Which, if any, should you and I believe? I would suggest that our response should always be: That which the Bible in its entirety teaches is what is important; what man teaches or thinks is not. In other words, we know there are going to be lots of false teachings in the last days. Are we willing to study the Scriptures in depth for ourselves, or accept without close scrutiny the words of someone else, even someone we’ve grown up knowing? Remember, Adam trusted Eve; Sampson trusted Delilah; Jacob trusted Laban; the eleven trusted Judas.

Just because the old-time religion was good enough for Grandpa doesn’t mean it is good enough for our salvation.

Dr. G