Misc.

When you look for a used car at a small car lot, you may see a sign on the car that says, “AS IS – NO WARRANTY.” That means there is no changing your mind after you buy the car, no matter what condition the car is in. The car may have visible defects, such as minor scratches, a little bit of rust, or even small cracks in the bumper or windshield. The greater concern is that there could possibly be hidden mechanical and electrical problems. When you sign on the dotted line, pay for the car and drive it off the car lot, that car is yours, “for better or for worse.” A vehicle with the sign, “AS IS – NO WARRANTY” is one vehicle you should definitely avoid.

On the other hand, when Jesus came to purchase you and pay for your sin with His precious blood, He saw a wrecked, ruined, problematic lost soul that deserved to be destroyed. As you stood there in your worthless condition, it was as if there was a sign on you which read, “AS IS – NO WARRANTY.” Although Jesus knew all of your problems and sins, He said, “I’ll take him,” without ever thinking to return you to your previous “owner.” He bought you just the way you are, knowing that you would be eternally His. He will never forsake you or disown you, no matter how many times you “break down.”

Of course, although He took you as you were, He didn’t leave you in your broken, pitiful, dirty condition. He pulled you out of the mire and filth of sin, forgave you and cleaned you up. Although you may not think that you are anything special, you are extremely valuable to God because you were purchased at a great price, the blood of His Son.

Today, stop and thank God that He accepted you, “AS IS – NO WARRANTY.”

A puzzle has a lot of different shaped pieces, but they all fit together to form a beautiful picture. Putting a puzzle together takes time, patience, and dedication. Getting frustrated, angry, or losing your temper because you can’t easily or quickly put the puzzle together will make you want to quit, and then you’ve only wasted your time, and you’ve accomplished nothing.

Much like a puzzle, a church has a lot of different members, but they should all fit together to form a beautiful church. Keeping a church together takes time, patience, and dedication. Getting frustrated, angry, and losing your temper over problems that arise will cause you to want to quit. God made each person different for a different and specific purpose, and that should hold the members together as they “interlock” one with another.

At the same time, the devil wants to magnify the differences and cause the church members to focus on their differences, instead of seeing how they need each other to fit together. Each church member has a specific location in which to serve and where they fit in, and you don’t need a hammer to make them fit. If you try to force a puzzle piece into the wrong place, not only will the wrong piece be in the wrong place, but it will then make the correct puzzle piece out of place.

Just like a puzzle, the more members (pieces) a church has, the more complicated it can become. Don’t stop working to find out where each one fits.

My wife put together one puzzle, and when she finished, one puzzle piece was missing. One. It just wasn’t anywhere to be found. That one space was left open, and although 999 pieces were in their places, the puzzle was not complete. There was no sense of accomplishment, and it was a total let-down.

Fellow Christian, if you’re not “in the picture” of your local church, there’s an incomplete church that is needing you to complete it. You are the only one that can fill your spot that no one else can. God wants to put you in the right place, so don’t resist, and don’t become missing. You will only be out of place and alone, and the church will be incomplete without you.

Where do you fit in? If you’re not already in your place of service, your space is empty. Whether your place is in the nursery, children’s ministry, teen department, church choir, orchestra, security, or even as pastor, get in the right place – your place – and complete the church for a fulfilling and important part of a complete church that glorifies God. It shouldn’t be puzzling. The church has a place for you!

The Bible teaches us in Ephesians 6:10-18 that we are in a spiritual warfare. Our fight is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual, wicked, demonic forces. For that reason, we are instructed to put on the whole armor of God. The Apostle Paul tells us to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). One of our weapons is the Sword of the Spirit. Just as a good soldier does not go into battle unarmed, we also must fight our spiritual battles armed and ready.

Part of our spiritual armor that is of utmost importance – that we had better not leave off – is prayer. We are told to pray without ceasing. Prayer must not be neglected because when we pray, we get in touch with God. Our guidance, our strength, our power comes from God. Just as we are to be spiritual warriors, we must also be prayer warriors.

However, when the Christian does not take advantage of and utilize this tremendous weapon, he is not trusting in God, but he’s going into battle in his own strength, or rather, in weakness. You don’t stand a chance against your spiritual enemy without God. If you do not pray as you should, then you will not be a prayer warrior, but a prayer “wimp.” You will not be a spiritual warrior if you are a prayer wimp.

In order to become a prayer warrior, one must dedicate oneself to going from a wimp to a warrior. Although it’s not difficult, it’s not easy. It requires time. Time alone with God. Time away from your smartphone and computer. Time away from brain-dead entertainment. Time away from worldly distractions. Many Christians are prayer wimps because they aren’t willing to dedicate themselves to the time required to become a warrior.

Becoming a prayer warrior requires humility. It demands being humble before God in childlike prayer, on your knees, as you seek God’s face and His heart. A prayer warrior recognizes his need for the Almighty on a daily basis, and will bow before His presence in humble servitude to ask for His help.

A prayer wimp will shoot off a thirty-second prayer as he scurries off to his other pressing duties of the day. A prayer warrior will take the necessary time to “suit up” with the whole armor of God, and not run out to face the enemy without taking the time to prepare for the battle.

Sadly, there aren’t too many spiritual warriors and prayer warriors in the churches of today, but churches are filled with spiritual wimps and prayer wimps.

Fellow Christian, how’s your prayer life? Would you be considered a prayer warrior or a prayer wimp? It’s past time for Christians in the twenty-first century to stop being spiritual wimps, put down their electronic toys, and get serious about spiritual things.

Are you a prayer warrior or a prayer wimp?

Sunday dinner is not just a normal meal at my in-law’s house, but it’s more like a weekly family reunion of the Walters family.  My mother-in-law starts preparing Sunday dinner on Saturday evening. No, she’s not making Saturday’s supper, so don’t even think about digging in until Sunday after church!

The preparation continues early Sunday morning before she eats breakfast. Sunday dinner is a special time as we gather round the big table and wait for my father-in-law to pray. “Dad” is always mindful about thanking “Mom/Nanny” for the hard work she has done in making dinner for us all, and then he thanks the Lord for the food, and he thanks the Lord for Mom.

Mom has been doing this for many years, and there’s not many Sundays that she is unable to do it, unless she is not feeling well, or she’s out of town with Dad. Not only does she serve lots of delicious food (and always some type of dessert), but she puts in a good deal of time, energy, thought, preparation and work.

With all of that being said, there is one more thing that goes into this whole process, and that thing is a huge amount of love. There’s lots of preparation that goes into this weekly shindig, and there’s a good bit of cleanup after all is said and eaten. Why does Mom do this week after week, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade? It’s because she loves me, her favorite son-in-law! Of course, that’s not the reason because we have spent most of the past twenty-four years in Brazil. Simply put, Mom/Nanny loves her family, in spite of all the different idiosyncrasies each family has. (Some of my sisters-in-law have some pretty weird ways!)  LOL.

We don’t go to my in-law’s house each Sunday because we “have” to, but because we love her, we appreciate all that she does for us, and because we like to eat her wonderful homemade food. When my family is Stateside and in South Carolina, we count it a privilege to have Sunday dinner with the family. No one at our church needs to ask if I want to go out to a restaurant to eat Sunday dinner. No! (Duh.) I don’t even need to think about it or consult with my wife. The place for all the family to be for Sunday dinner is at my in-law’s house. It’s not a choice we have to think about because it’s automatic. It’s Sunday, and we’re going! If someone wants to take us out to eat, well, let’s go out between Monday and Saturday.

The past two weeks have been rough for my mother-in-law, but she doesn’t like it when someone makes a “fuss” over her when she’s not feeling well. When she was taken by ambulance to the hospital last Friday I was very concerned, and prayed for her a lot that afternoon and evening. I was greatly relieved when I found out that she was feeling better and able to go home. I was also somewhat surprised – though not entirely – that she was at church today, and even in her usual spot of interpreting for the deaf. I don’t know if she fixed Sunday dinner for the family today (I’m in Brazil as I write this), but even though she shouldn’t have, she probably did.

Let me finish my sentimental rambling by saying that I am grateful to God for the wife that I have, and for the mother-in-law that I have. I love her, and she says she loves me (maybe because I did my part in contributing to the majority of her grandchildren, or maybe because I live thousands of miles away). I wanted to let her know that what she does is not unnoticed or unappreciated. As long as I live I will never forget Sunday dinner at Dad and Mom’s house.

Whether it’s Sunday dinner, pizza-movie night, or whatever your family traditionally does, don’t squander those precious times together as a family, but hold on to those times as long as possible. The “good old days” that you will one day look back on are happening right now.

I missed Mom’s Sunday dinner today because I returned to Brazil a few days ago, but I sure could go for a plate of her stewed beef and rice, green beans, and banana pudding!

Friends, don’t take your family for granted. Love them, tell them that you love them, but most of all, show them that you love them. Love your family more than you love your smartphone. You will never regret the time you spend with family members that love you, but you will regret it if you miss an opportunity that you will never have again.

I love Sunday dinner with the family!

What does a desire for God look like? The word desire has different meanings, as do many words, but the principal meaning is “to long for, or to crave something.”

People have different degrees of desire, such as a desire to visit a foreign country, get a good education or a good job, and have a meaningful relationship with someone of the opposite sex. Many people work hard to save money, study, or whatever it takes to fulfill their desires, even making sacrifices to accomplish their goals, dreams, and desires.

Edward McKendree (E. M.) Bounds was a man of prayer, and he is credited with saying, “A desire for God which cannot break the chains of sleep is a weak thing and will do but little good for God after it has indulged itself fully.”

For the Christian, a desire for God should be greater than anything else. If you can get up at 4:00 o’clock AM on Black Friday to go shopping, or get up before dawn to go hunting, but you can’t break the chains of sleep to spend time with God, then your desire, love, and commitment to God is a weak thing.

Going back to my original question, what does a desire for God look like? It looks like someone who sets their alarm early in order to pray and read God’s Word. It looks like a committed Christian on his/her knees in prayer to ask forgiveness, guidance, to worship, praise, and make supplication for others. It looks like a saint of God with an open Bible – not a digital, electronic app – that has a desire to learn, grow, and draw closer to God.

James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God and He will draw thy to you.” No one draws nigh to God by accident. To draw nigh to God requires a desire to draw nigh which not too many Christians possess. By the way, yes, I know this is the 21st century, and I know that it’s hard to separate time for God. However, it all boils down to how great your desire is for God, and it shouldn’t be that difficult to draw nigh to the One that loves you with an everlasting love.

A while back when my son, Nathan, was here, he and I went to go to help a friend do some work on his house that needed to be done. One thing we did was to break up the driveway entrance so that it could be replaced. Nearby was a large pine tree, and the roots had spread and grown under the driveway, and had broken the concrete. One thing that I noticed was that there was a rather large root that had made a deliberate turn when it reached the foundation of the house. It did not go under the house, but ran alongside the foundation. Thankfully, the person who built the house had the wisdom to build a strong foundation, so that even the roots from a nearby tree could not penetrate it and do damage to the house.

That made me think: It is very important to have a strong foundation on the Word of God, so that when the roots of secularism, humanism, materialism (and all those other “isms”) try to do their damage, the firm foundation with hold fast and true. They will run alongside the foundation, looking for a weak spot, so be sure that your foundation is complete, and deeply grounded. If you try to skimp, cut corners, taking shortcuts on something so important, and not build a secure foundation, the roots of destruction will find their way in, and do great damage.

My friend, your time with God, reading and studying the Bible, being in ALL the services of the church are vital to your spiritual foundation. If you cut out a little here and a little there, you are doing it to your own spiritual demise. Don’t cut corners with God. Build a strong, firm foundation on the Word of God, and then you’ll be able to withstand those attacks from those underlying forces. You’ll be glad that you did!