When the Wheels Fall Off

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
(Philippians 4:6)

There's a story that is told about the Architect of the Panama Canal, Ferdinand Lesseps, the story says that one day while at his desk in the study of his houseboat just off shore, pouring over the plans for the Panama Canal & submerged in his work, his son was playing with a toy wagon at his feet. The little boy was pushing the wagon all around the floor & around his father’s feet, when all of a sudden one of the wheels on his wagon came off & rolled across the room. The little boy chased down the runaway wheel & he immediately took the broken toy to his busy father, who stopped his very important work, took the toy & in one twist of the wrist, popped the wagon wheel back on to its miniature axle. Ferdinand returned the wagon to his waiting son & the son returned to his play.

Philippians 4 tells us to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” In laymen’s terms, “Don't worry about nothin', but pray about everything”. It goes on to tell us that when we do that "the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." God's peace will be with us, we can have peace in any trouble. Paul, the man who wrote this should know better than anybody, that God's peace "surpasses all comprehension"(2 Corinthians 11:23-33).

Also notice that Ferdinand's son didn't look at his problem & say, "This just isn't a big enough problem to take to my Father." No he just took it. His father also didn't look down at Junior & say, "Look son I'm busy with an important project, I just don't have time right now." He just stops everything & fixes the problem...nothing his son could ever bring to him would be too small of a problem, if it bothered his son that he loved. Nothing is ever too small of a problem to take to your heavenly Father. When the wheels fall off, where do you turn, where do you go when everything seems to be falling apart? Ferdinand's son didn't think twice, he took his wagon & wheel straight to the only one he knew that could repair it...straight to his father.

Is God your Father? Is He your savior? He can be...go to the top of this page on the right hand side, you can click to see what the plan of salvation is, as well as how to accept that Plan. Or feel free to email me at vernmason1@gmail.com.

Vern

To Teach or Not To Teach...That Was The Question

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1)

This is a question that I received online:

“Will teachers of the word of God be held to a higher standard than others? I’ve been feeling called to teach, but have heard that the Bible says that teachers would be held more accountable than others. I really want to make sure that I make the right decision.”

Yes, in James 3:1 the Bible says, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren…” James is warning against becoming a teacher of God’s word. Why? He goes on to give us the reason, “knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” He encourages his fellow Christians to not become Teachers of God’s word because of the higher level of accountability a teacher will be held to by God. God takes His word seriously, because many can be, have been & will be lead astray by false teachers...this is the main reason that it is truly important to read, study & know the Bible for yourself, instead of just listening to someone else tell you what it says.

Now is that all that James is saying here, for Christians not to be teachers? No, he is just giving a strong warning against taking the calling of a teacher lightly. I’m afraid that many people today do take the teaching of God’s word way to lightly; they sometimes become teachers for the wrong reasons. It might be that they felt pressured into it by their church; maybe there were not enough teachers so they just took the job. It may have been that they just wanted to try it out. Maybe their mom told them that they would make a good teach. Whatever the reason, if it's not a call from God, they shouldn't teach. Some who teach may not pick up the word & study until the night before they teach & may never go to God in prayer about how to or what to teach. Either way, if a person is not called by God to teach, again, they should never do it, God WILL judge teachers more strictly.

We do however need to remember that God does call people to teach, it is one of the gifts God gives (Ephesians 4:11). If God calls you to teach, there is no need to fear that calling. But you should be more than dedicated to the task that God has given you & remain an instrument in His hands & devote yourself to the study of His word.





Vern

A Fool and His Money

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?”
(Luke 12:20)

A very wealthy man passed away & his sons, daughters, grandchildren, cousins, ect… all gathered in the grand study of his lavish estate, greedily awaiting their reward for being kin to this wealthy man. The lawyer entered the study with the will in hand, “How much did he leave!” the family asked with excitement. The lawyer smugly answered, “Everything…he left it all.”

Someone once said that there are no pockets in a shroud & you never see a hearse towing a U-Haul, those are all very true & Jesus states it here, In Luke 12. In these verses Jesus gave a story of a very wealthy man whom He labeled as a fool. But notice what kind of man this guy appears to be. On the outside he seemed to be an upstanding citizen, a good neighbor & a great family man. He was very successful & lived in a very nice part of town. He wasn’t crooked; he wasn’t mixed up in shady business deals, he wasn’t an alcoholic or keeping a lady on the side, but Jesus still calls him a fool. Why?

By what he says & does, he put all his thought on himself & he’s covetous…he was storing up for himself. He wasn’t concerned with the needs of the poor, but with the needs of himself. Boy does that sound like us today. We…& notice I’m using “we”, because I’m apart of it…We have become a people more worried about what we have & what we want than what others may truly need. Now don’t get me wrong, Jesus isn’t saying don’t save for a rainy day, God does give us the example of the ant (Proverbs 6:6-8). He is saying, don’t hoard up for yourself. This guy in the story was putting up more than he could ever use, while people around him may have been in dire need. Jesus called him a fool for that, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” This guy had collected all these earthly treasures, but had not laid anything away in Heaven.

This epitaph fits well here:
“Here lies john Racket, in his wooden jacket. He kept neither horses nor mules. He lived like a hog. He died like a dog, and left all his money to fools.”

Again this man stored up riches for himself & stored nothing up in Heaven. He was living as though this life was it, you know the “Eat, drink & be merry…for tomorrow we die” mentality. It wasn’t that this guy was outwardly bad & awful, but inwardly he hadn’t done a thing. He was focused on himself & his wants instead of the wants of Jesus & he was called a fool.

I sat in the living room of a man who lived in our town, he was a very wealthy man, had land & a great business. While there I shared Jesus with him. I asked him “If you died today, would you go to heaven?” he said, “I don’t need that stuff, I’ve got all I need.” About a year or so later, I heard that he passed away; it broke my heart, because I heard that others who shared with him heard the same reply. I drive by his home daily & every time I do, I think of that night in his living room & I wonder now if he would change his mind. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34)

Vern