Old guy, new thing!

So, writing a blog doesn't change the world or even influence it very much. Readers usually log into this page out of some sense of curiosity or loyalty as friends. To be honest, it's a more selfish personal motive than that. The daily blog keeps my mind activated to some degree and allows me to blow off a little steam about many life puzzles. On occasion the same ol' same ol' gets a little wearisome and I need a new look to keep my engines revved. So, here we are with a new intro flag and a pledge to keep it short and sweet. I mean, it is Monday in February and who doesn't need a short blast of encouragement to tackle the mean streets of life today?

Encouragement is a personal ideal that registers with each of us in different ways. You know, a kind word or act that lifts the people around us, something positive as we shoulder the weights of contemporary life. In my personal experience genuine encouragement is more than rah, rah, sis boom bah, or my many attempts at glad-handing others, especially those dealing with trying circumstances. As a Christian, and a Gospel minister to boot, the real stuff is Scriptural, eternal truth from the Word of God. And, encouragement is a significant biblical theme. The words of the Apostle Paul are especially encouraging to me. He wrote to believers in the towns and villages of the first century world, people typically in a Greek culture, surrounded by stiffeling Jewish legalism, most often under Roman military rule. In several of his Epistles he expressed a spiritual expectation that they encourage one another. Two verses from 1 Thessalonians convict me today---

Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4: 18, ESV

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up , just as you are doing,

1 Thessalonians 5: 11, ESV

Those Christians certainly lived in demanding times. Paul knew they could not be genuinely encouraged by government, local economies, or the secrets of successfully navigating life in the fast lane. He wanted them to encourage each other with Scriptural truth. He knew that life demands more than slick words or even the best human attitudes. You see, genuine encouragement is eternal truth that sustains us even when our life circumstances have turned sour.

So, it's Monday in February. Remember this---"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all"

(1 Thessalonians 5:14, ESV).

Admonish, encourage, and help someone in your circle today. And, be patient with all. From an old guy with a new thing.

Age, mileage, wear and tear.

Not long ago I went through what I perceive as one of those man things. There was this overwhelming desire for a new car. So, one day I took my old 2005 SUV by a local dealer to get the lowdown on a purchase or trade. He looked it over, gave the interior a scan, sat in the driver's seat, briefly looked at a car appraisal book, and gave me a piece of paper with the expected trade allowance. It was a pleasant surprise, what he could offer me in exchange for a new model. When I questioned him about it he told me that his evaluation was based more on the mileage and wear and tear than the car's age. My old hunk registered only 120,000 miles rather than the 225,000 average for a car that old. It was a reminder that life is like driving a car. Age isn't the deciding factor about the measure of life. How we weather our road time is more the deal.

Of course, the realities of life this side of heaven are among the mysteries of living in a broken world. We can only imagine what God had created for Adam and Eve, the glories of perfection. Human age, mileage, and wear and tear aren't so much about birth and death dates as how we are personally prepared to meet the demands of real time. This reminder flashed a couple truths across my screen---

1. Life is a precious gift.

King David wrote about the blessings and trials of life. Among his many Psalms he expressed deep inspiration about the precious gift of life. One strikes me today---

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139: 13-16, ESV

As God's gift life should be lived expectantly, obediently, and purposefully.

2. Life is not a stroll in the park.

It was another notable theme of the Psalms, King David's confession of and experience with harsh and troubling times. The truth is that life in this broken world is sinful and hazardous. Age, mileage, and wear and tear are among the few realities common to our life experience regardless of our placement or personal circumstances. Psalm 90: 10 is one reflection of King David's heart in this truth---

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Life is fast, complex, and can be lived abundantly. Still, we humans are challenged by pitfalls and obstacles.

3. God's promises are a faithful guide to the journey.

Over and over Scripture reminds us of God's blessed provision for his people. Several verses give me constant hope in trying times---

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29: 11, ESV

By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

2 Peter 1: 4, ESV

Comparison of life to a car isn't really a great analogy. Lately, however, with Covid 19 and a recent infection I am more aware of the uncertainties of life under heaven and the profound truth of his presence, provision, and guidance for life. Is it a walk in the park? Not always. But, he promises blessed peace and hope regardless of age, mileage, or wear and tear. The Apostle Paul expressed it in this prayerful thought to the Romans---

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15: 13, ESV

Blessings!

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Check the gauges.

Presumptive statement 4:

Life is like driving a car. Checking the gauges will keep the machinery in working order.

Bible reference:

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

2 Corinthians 13: 5, ESV

My first personal car was a 1962 Chevrolet Corvair convertible. She was a little beauty and like many of us and our old cars, I wish I had never traded her. Somewhere in my early ownership several of the important engine seals, don't ask me which ones, were overheated and reduced in size and fit. One day there was some engine trouble. The mechanic told me that the motor oil was registering dangerously low. There were numerous leaks. He then sat me down in the driver's seat, pointed to each of the engine gauges and warned me that keeping the car gassed wasn't the only component of it being road worthy. The episode reminded me that life is often like driving a car. It takes more than the basic fuel to keep it in working order.

And, like my old Corvair, many of us are attempting to navigate life without the necessary physical, emotional, and spiritual fuels. The last several decades have seen emptiness as a broad cultural marker, even with advances in technology, education, communication, and information. Yes, we are a little obsessive about monitoring our physical systems. Mirrors, scales, clothing sizes, body movement, breathing, and many other routine life measures give us daily glimpses of our basic sensual health. Tack on meters for blood pressure, A1C, temperature, activity devices like FitBit or those many others, gyms, personal coaches, nutritional packaging, and you discover a multitude of ways to assess those life gauges. And, it's not just a secular cultural whim to monitor ourselves physically. The Apostle Paul wrote, "But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9: 27, ESV). All of this fitness stuff are really challenging biblical imperatives...says one fat guy to a few others.

We're less likely to give attention to our emotional and spiritual status. Even though they're not public displayed like our more visible attributes they do touch the people around us in profound ways. Biblical guidance in these areas is even more abundant than those addressing our organic health. Having the same mind as Christ (reference Philippians 2: 1-11, ESV) re-shapes our inborn self-absorption with attitudes like humility, servant-hood, and obedience. Checking our emotional gauges warns us of fear, anxiety, anger, ambition, jealousy, envy, and other barriers to relational and functional purpose. I am often reminded of the Apostle Paul's words, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12: 2, ESV).

Personal spiritual assessment is another stumbling point for us. You see, we often let culture dictate acceptable spiritual markers rather than Scripture. What works for most of us these days is a hybrid spirituality between legalism and secularism. Of course, Scripture should be our guide and provides ample instruction about examining our personal spiritual development and growth, and the points by which they are gauged. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of spiritual inventory guides, some very broad, others more limited. In my opinion this kind of personal review should assess my Bible study, worship, prayer, fellowship, and service commitments. Even more, I should be honest about the consistency and regularity in which they are experienced. They are my spiritual nourishment, my food for life. A significant life gauge.

And, life is like driving a car. We need to check the gauges often.

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