Nose News

I seldom think about my nose, but I’ve been thinking about it often since an artery in the right nasal passage burst two days ago. I think about the pain. I think about the gauze pads and surgical tape I change every few hours. I think about the fact that I can’t preach this morning. Not only do I look bad, I also feel bad. How can such a little thing as a nose cause such big trouble? I hope those of you who know me aren’t questioning the description of my nose as “little.”

First Corinthians 12 compares the Church to the human body. Even the smallest member of the body is essential. When it hurts, the whole body hurts (v. 28a). Similarly, when one member of the Church hurts, the whole Church hurts. Every believer has a vital role to play if the Church is to be healthy and active.

As soon as my nose heals, I will be back in active ministry. My goal is to help the body of believers in Penrose be at their best for God. In the meantime, I will take it easy and be glad no one has compared me to Jimmy Durante.

Two Good Days in a Row

Yesterday was a good day. A 20-year-old woman responded to the sermon by accepting Christ as her Savior. A couple in our church had met her in Colorado Springs, where she was homeless and hungry. They bought her groceries, shared the gospel with her, and let her know how she could contact them if she needed further help. When she contacted them, they took her into their home.
She will be returning home to North Dakota this week, so please pray that she will find strong spiritual support there.

Today was a good day. I finished writing a VBS course for 5th and 6th graders. It was quite a stretch, because I am accustomed to writing for adults. Nevertheless, I think the course includes solid Bible teaching and many fun-filled activities that will help kids trust in Christ and obey Him.

Although the satisfaction of completing the VBS assignment is a reward in itself, I plan to reward myself with a game of golf tomorrow. I hope tomorrow is a good day too.

Walk This Way!

Enoch was the only member of Seth’s godly line who escaped death in the Age of Conscience. Genesis 5:21–24 reports that he walked with God until one day God took him. Even parental responsibilities didn’t deter Enoch from walking with God. Verse 22 indicates he walked with God for 300 years after fathering Methuselah and other sons and daughters. At age 365, Enoch’s walk with God rose to its highest level—Heaven.

After returning from a trip to the Holy Land, a Christian told a friend how thrilling it was to walk where Jesus walked centuries earlier. He added, "Only one thing is better than walking where Jesus walked long ago; that is to walk with Jesus today.”

You and I may not be able to tour the Holy Land and walk where Jesus walked, but we can walk with Him today and every day.

May we enjoy such a walk now and anticipate our future walk with Him in Heaven.

Dual Citizenship

En route to the mid-week Bible study in Penrose yesterday I ran into a nasty snowstorm. Visibility was poor and the highway through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains was becoming as slick as hair lotion on a bald head. At the mid-point between home and Penrose I received a call on my cell phone from one of the leaders of the church in Penrose. He had heard about the bad driving conditions and advised me to return home.
As soon as I could safely turn around, I did, and I returned to clear skies over Colorado Springs. I learned later clear skies graced Penrose as well. I had simply driven into a narrow band of snow along a highway known for a high rate of accidents even in good weather.
I had been unable to attend mid-week Bible study, but yesterday’s mail alerted me to a February 5 appointment I had better keep. I have been selected for jury duty that day.
Mid-week Bible study and jury duty may seem incongruent, but the two events indicate clearly that the Christian holds dual citizenship. Every Christian is a citizen of heaven and a citizen on earth. The former constrains us to love and obey God. The latter constrains us to love our country and obey its laws. If we are so heavenly minded we are no earthly good, we need to adjust our halos for hard hats and put our faith to work.
Jesus admonished His followers to let their light shine in the world so our fellow human beings would see their good works and glorify their heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16). Perhaps in some way a positive response to jury duty will help at least one person to consider his or her relationship to the Righteous Judge, our Savior.