How Low Can You Go?

I

t was a gorgeous Friday afternoon. I had just finished teaching my last class and was enjoying the drive back home.  The sun was shining, the sky was clear, the music was pleasant, and I was feeling great!!  Everything was going my way, no problems in sight!

All that changed in a split second!  One glance at my instrument panel sent a wave of fear over me.  Suddenly, the music didn't seem so cheerful, the weather didn't seem so pleasant, and the weekend seemed like an eternity away.  The needle on my fuel gauge was parked right on empty.  There was no distance between the needle and the E!  I was riding on fumes, hoping against hope the car wouldn't stop on the freeway!

I quickly calculated the distance to the nearest gas station and began praying.  I was praying and driving, driving and praying, doing my best to remain calm in the face of this desperate situation.  I normally keep a close watch on my fuel levels but this particular week, I hadn't kept as close a watch and I was paying for it.

Finally, I saw my exit, left the freeway, and pulled into the filling station.  The gas wasn't the most inexpensive, but I didn't have any choice. I was just glad to have the opportunity to fill my tank, regardless of price!  While I stood there, slowing my breathing, I reflected on what had just happened. If I had paid closer attention to my gauges, I would have had no worries and I could have paid less for gas.  As it was, I was scared, worried, and a few bucks over budget for gasoline that week.

My adventure at the gas pump has a direct parallel in the New Testament.  In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins who were awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom so they could go in with him to the marriage feast.  Five of them brought extra oil for their lamps and five of them didn't.  When the bridegroom came, five of them were ready to go in but the other five were not.

Matthew 25:3 reveals Jesus’ assessment of those who were not ready, who didn't pay attention to their fuel levels. “The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.”  These five did only half the job!  They took their lamps, they made provision for the short term, but they brought no oil in case the party started later.  That is exactly what happened.  The bridegroom delayed his coming and their oil ran out.

When the groom came, they were unprepared to meet him.  They asked their five friends to share oil with them but they refused lest there not be enough oil for them.  While the five foolish virgins went to buy oil, the bridegroom came and they missed the party!

The application for us is a good one.  How low can we go before we realize we are in trouble?  How often do we pay attention to the fuel gauges in our spiritual lives?  Are we keeping our tanks full, drawing our supply from God and his word?  Are we refueling our lives from his provision, running on the fuel he provides?  Or are we like the five foolish virgins, making provision for the short term but never thinking ahead?

When we fail to keep our tanks filled, when we let them run dry, then we run a great risk.  We will stop to fill them at the nearest station, taking on lower grade fuel at a higher price and we always pay for it.  God never intends for this to happen to us. He provides the best fuel in constant supply.  All we need do is fill our tanks each day and keep a watch on our gauges.  The world cannot supply the fuel we need; it can only come from God.

S

o, what does your fuel gauge read?  Do you have a full tank, half of a tank, or are you slap on empty?  Are you enjoying the ride or are you panicking today?

Come On In!

Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Today's Title: Come On In!

Today's Scripture: Joshua 1:1-3

I distinctly remember the first day my brother and I moved into our new home.  For eighteen long months we had worked, preparing the house for occupancy.  At last the long-awaited day arrived.  With the help of our parents and a few friends, we moved our furniture, our clothes, and all our belongings into the new house, cutting the apron strings with home and taking up the reigns of home ownership.  

It was exciting and frightening at the same time.  During the previous eighteen months, we had lived with our parents but our new home was across town, waiting for us to enter and set up house keeping.  During this time we were in limbo; we lived in one place but were looking forward to another.  Although we had enjoyed living with mom and dad, the time had come for us to move on and start a new life of our own.

A few days after moving into the house, I received a reality check. You know what these are, don’t you?  They are those little moments when you understand just how big the hole you’re in is and you know the shovel you are holding isn't large enough to dig you out.  It had never occurred to me that the money we borrowed had to be paid back.  I had written checks to pay for the plumbing, the wiring, and all the other needs we had.  But that was the bank’s money, not mine.  Now I was faced with the reality that I had to use my money to repay the loan.  Talk about scared!

I imagine this is the way Joshua must have felt as he stood on the threshold of the Promised Land, ready to make his entrance with the children of Israel.  For forty years they had been wondering in the desert, walking in a great circle, paying for their disobedience to God.  The Lord was using this situation to prepare them to take possession of the land. The wanderings in the desert would teach them about God’s faithfulness and His trustworthiness.

Finally, the day came when they were to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land.  There must have been wonderful excitement in the camp that day.  The promise made to Abraham hundreds of years before was about to be fulfilled.  God had opened the door and had extended an invitation for His people to go into the land of promise.  The responsibilities for leading the people into the land and for conquering it fell to Moses’ servant, Joshua.

Can’t you just imagine Joshua’s fears and worries?  For the past forty years, the people had received their instructions and their leadership from Moses.  This great man of God had stood before Pharaoh, he had led them through the Red Sea, he had given them God’s law, and he had built the tabernacle in the wilderness.  How would Joshua ever fill Moses’ shoes?  Would the people listen to him, would they respect him, would they carry out his instructions?  The fear of the unknown must have plagued Joshua and weighed heavily on his mind.  God, however, had great plans for him and gave him wonderful words of reassurance.

In Joshua 1:1-3, God gives these words of encouragement to Joshua, “After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them-to the Israelites.  I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.”

There are three things we need to learn from this passage of scripture today.  First, Joshua must face reality.  Moses is dead!  The people can no longer rely on his leadership.  This left the people and Joshua with not only a sense of loss, but also caused them great anxiety.  Their security blanket had been ripped right out from underneath them.  But God does not stop here.  The next sentence demonstrates that God’s plans do not change. 

Second, God tells Joshua that the people will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land He promised on oath to Abraham.  What wonderful reassurance this must have been.  God’s promises are not dependent on one individual or set of circumstances. God’s promises are dependent on Him and, therefore, can never fail. 

Finally, God restates His intention.  That intention is to fulfill His promise, to be with the people as they cross over and to settle them in the land just as He told Moses and just as He promised Abraham.  No matter how daunting the circumstance and no matter how impossible and hopeless the situation may seem, God’s promises remain true.  He will keep them all!

This morning, as we face the day ahead, we can and must draw great strength from these verses.  The events of yesterday are gone.  All of its successes, all of its comforts, and all of its security are forever in the past.  God is calling us to move forward into territory unknown to us but very familiar to Him.  He is calling us to move from where we are into the promises He has given us.  We can not dwell in the desert when God has called us to a land flowing with milk and honey.  We must get up, move forward, leave the past behind, enter the land, and possess it.

God has opened the door on this morning and He extends to us the following invitation:  “Come on in!”  The rest is up to us.  Personally, I’m going to wipe my feet on the welcome mat and go on in!  How about you?

Let's Go!

Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Tuesday, December 31, 2014

Today's Title: Let's Go!

Today's Scripture: Luke 2:12

If someone wrote you a check for a million dollars, if, suddenly, you came into money that allowed you to pay off all your existing debt, or if your boss walked in and gave you a 50% raise, what would you do?  Probably the first thing you’d do after you picked yourself up off the floor would be to call someone, your best friend or a family member, and tell them what had just happened.  There is something infectious about good news.  We get it and we want to infect everyone else with it.  The shepherds outside of Bethlehem were no exception!

In Luke 2: 15, we read: “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Notice the first two words the shepherds say to one another, “Let’s go.”  After hearing the good news about the birth of Christ, they can’t stay where they are.  They have to go and see God’s work and along the way tell everyone what has happened.

This is just a foreshadowing of what Jesus will tell his disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  The story of the Good News only began in Bethlehem.  The shepherds ran to the manger to see Jesus and they made sure everyone knew the story.

Have you ever stopped to think that when we tell others of Jesus, we are following in the footsteps of those shepherds so long ago?  The good news of Jesus Christ is not something that can be kept secret.  It will be evident, not only in our words, but in the way we think, act, speak, and live.  In fact, people will be able to tell far more about us by our actions than by our words.

Wherever you are today, at work, school, shopping, the hospital, visiting a friend, or on vacation, you have the same opportunity as those shepherds.  Are you sharing the good news of Jesus by your words and actions?  Does the good news of his coming and his salvation burn within your heart?  Can you say with the shepherds, “Let’s go”?  I trust you can!

Stuck In A Rut

Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Today's Title: Stuck In A Rut

Today's Scripture: Luke 2:8

Get up.  Go to work. Work all day. Come home. Go to bed. Get up. Do it all over again.  Sound familiar?  Life seems like this at times, doesn’t it?  We fall into the same routine and we basically hit the automatic pilot button as we go from one day to another.  Monday looks like Tuesday looks like Wednesday, well you get the picture.  We simply seem to go through the motions and then we wonder what happened and where the week went. 

Today’s passage paints just this picture.  We have spent the last several days concentrating on Mary and Joseph and their journey from Nazareth.  Today we look at the other people who play a part in the Christmas story.  Not only is God working in the lives of Mary and Joseph, he is also working in the lives of ordinary, every-day people like you and me, preparing them to receive the good news of the coming of Jesus and of the fulfillment of the promise God made all those many years ago.

Luke 2:8 simply reads, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” Shepherds.  In the time of Christ, these were the lowliest of the low.  They had very little if any social standing.  They were uneducated, poor, and had very few prospects in life.  Their job was to work with sheep, dumb, stubborn animals that were helpless, defenseless, weak, and prone to doing things their own way.  And yet, here these men are, faithfully discharging their duties and notice that the passage tells us it was night. 

So, what is so great about shepherds?  They are loyal, faithful, compassionate, caring; the list goes on and on.  It should come, then as no surprise, that God would reveal the birth of Jesus to ones such as these.  Jesus will say of himself that he is “the good shepherd.”  He will also refer to us as sheep and if you read the description above, you will see that he is right.

Jesus entire ministry can be summed up with his words, “the last shall be first.”  What better way to begin this ministry than by announcing the birth of the Messiah to those who were considered to be the “last” rung on society’s ladder.

And so we leave them here, in the fields, taking care of their flocks, unaware that in a brief few moments, their lives will be changed forever.  Jesus is already in the cradle not very far away.  The shepherds have settled down for the night.  But something is about to happen, something they never expected, and something they will never forget.  Who knows what God has in store for you today? Are you ready to find out?