iLonnie

Actually I do not call them sayings. I call them “WiseWords.” They are words so wise that we all should remember them. Here is one of mine…

“A luxury once tried becomes a NECESSITY!”

If you do not believe that one is true, then try to live a week without a remote control, or air conditioning, or a refrigerator. Of course you would claim that a fridge is a necessity. Exactly! Around the world there are millions of people who live with a fridge. You prove my point.

What is one of your favorite “WiseWords?” Leave a post and share it with me so I can tell others.

It has been a lifetime ago but I will never forget that Mia stole my grapes. It happened this way. When I was six and my brother was four, our mother gave us some grapes. He ate his, but I saved my till later. While I was busy with something else Mia, the little girl next door, slipped into our house and stole and ate my grapes. It crushed me. As a child I was upset.

You know what? I’m over it. You are thinking that since it was a lifetime ago I ought to be over it and you are right. One would think that all such old sins and grievances are over, but they are not. The world is filled with people who nurse old wounds. The church is filled with Christians who nurse old wounds.

How long should it take to get over old offenses? How long does it take for forgive? A day? A week? A year? A lifetime?

Jesus answered the question for us when he said, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:25).

When do we forgive? Jesus said to forgive when you pray. Most people think to ask for forgiveness when they pray, but Jesus said to give forgiveness when you pay. Your willingness to forgive when you pray impacts the forgiveness you will receive when you pray. Jesus said, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

When wronged you must not let it define you. To burden yourself with old hurts is to let old hurts define it. It is a handicap in your life. It is a limp when you walk.

When we forgive others we give others the chance to begin again and again and again. When we forgive others we give ourselves the chance to begin again and again and again and to do so without the limp. If we do not want to limp through life, we will forgive.

So, Mia stole my grapes. I’m over it. Who stole your grapes and are you over it? For your sake I hope so.

Lonnie Davis

God, Snow, and Airplanes

I got on the plane. Terrible seat! Sandwich seat! No legroom! The lady next to me was already opening her smelly food. “Sorry about the food,” she said. “It’s okay,” I responded. In a few minutes a man came up and said, “You are sitting in my seat.” I checked my ticket. No, I was sitting in the right seat. I looked at his ticket. Sure enough, it was his seat too. I gave him the seat and told him I would find a different one. The flight attendant sprang into action. He walked me to the back of the plane. I saw an empty seat on the exit row (I call them “economy first class”) “I can just sit here,” I told him. He would not let me. He took me off the plane, telling me I would have to wait to see what was available. I went all the way to the gate and watched them assign seats to others. Outside was the snow was falling hard (eventually 12 inches). I was afraid I might be trapped at the airport. Finally they gave me a ticket. I walked to my new seat. It was the exit row and the aisle seat. Wonderful! We pushed away from the gate at 1:30 and took off at 3:45 (deicing).

Sometimes life does not go as you planned. When you have little hiccups along the way it is easy to be frustrated and angry. It is better to decide that God’s hand is in the details. When Israel left Egypt and headed to the Promised Land, the Bible tells us:

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.” – Exodus 13: 17 – 18,

There was a quicker route, but God knew they needed to take the long way. He gave them what was best and not what they might have wanted. God still works that way, even when the snow is falling and you are getting on a plane.

As we were sitting on the tarmac, the captain walked back and talked to our row and apologized for the long delay. I spoke up and said, “We’re okay. We are sitting here reading books and relaxing. We do not have to fret with small children. We’ll be okay.” He smiled and went to talk with others. As long as we keep God in our plans, God will work things out for the good. (Romans 8:28).

Lonnie Davis

It is Sunday, January 31, 2010 and I am at home all morning. Yesterday we got snowed in and for the second time this winter we had to cancel the Sunday services. As I was reading this morning I came across an interesting story.

On January 29, 2010, ABC news ran a news story under the theme of "Still No Church." The point of the article is that after one year President Obama still has found no church to attend. They point out that he attended church only three times in the past year.

What is said of Obama could be said about millions of American. Millions of Americans seldom or never attend the meeting of the church. Since it is not unusual this story is not about our president skipping worship worship, but about what those close to him said about it.

ABC news reported, "Sources familiar with the president’s personal life say Obama remains a faithful Christian while in the White House."

There is is! People just do not get it. Christ died for the church. The Holy Spirit commanded us to gather for worship with the church.

You can ignore the church, but you cannot be a faithful Christian while doing so.

Look it up – Hebrews 10:25.

A snow storm or a sickness may make you "providentially hindered," but choosing not to worship is being unfaithful to the commands of the Holy Spirit.

Lonnie Davis
 

A man or woman can work a lifetime to build a reputation and yet have his or her life defined in a single act. On January 14, 2009, few people knew who Chesley Sullenberger was. He was just another unknown airline pilot. On January 15

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all of that changed. He was the pilot in charge of US Airways Flight 1549 as they flew over the Hudson River in Manhatten, New York. Things went wrong and Captain Sullenberger landed his passenger jet in the Hudson river. There was no loss of life and the previously unknown pilot became an instant national hero.

This article is not about his flying skills. In the months that followed this event, Captain Sullenberger wrote a book called “Highest Duty.” In his book he tells of what life is like with his new hero status. When he speaks over the intercom on flights, after he says his name he has to pause because the people on the flight clap for him. Experiencing this, he wrote,

"I flew thousands of flights in the past 42 years but my entire career is now being judged by how I performed on one of them. This has been a reminder to me that we need to try to do the right thing every time to perform at our best because we never know which moment in our lives we will be judged on."

As you read this passage again, think of two short verses from God’s Word.

(1) Ecclesiastes 7:1 – “A good name is better than fine perfume.”

For all those times when you get it right there is a great reward. It is not someday in the sky, but now. Because you did the right thing, you have a good name.

(2) Ecclesiastes 10:1 – "As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor."

For those times when you get it wrong, for those times when you act out or make poor choices, there are always consequences. A dead fly in the perfume runs everything.

Be on guard to how you live your life. You reputation here and eternity there hang in the balance. A moment of folly or a moment of greatness can change everything.

Lonnie Davis

A Can of Corn

When Liz and I first married we learned many things from each other. She was a country girl and I was a city boy. I was from Houston, Texas (Population 1,000,000 +). She was from Jack’s Creek, Tennessee (Population 100+).  That is a cultural clash. My first church was in a farming community. One day my country wife told me that we were going to go get corn and took me to a farm where we picked our own corn. We shucked it, cut it off the cob and made our own cream style corn. I did not say so at the time, but I thought it was not very good. I liked canned corn. I was very young and very, very ignorant.

Growing up my mother made corn often. She would go the pantry, get a can, open it and pour it into a pan. When the temperature was right she would serve it to us. Hmmmm, good! (I hope I did not give away her secret recipe).

Over the years I have learned the difference between superior and inferior corn. Taste is a funny thing. One can get used too things that are not very good. One can even learn to think that inferior stuff is superior stuff.

It is a principle that is as old as the world. Cain thought inferior worship was better than faith worship (Genesis 4). Demas though the world was superior to serving with Paul. (2 Timothy 4:10). Judas thought 30 pieces of silver was better than walking with Jesus.

Unfortunately it is a principle that still allures people today. Everyday people choose the world over the spirit. Everyday people choose sin over righteousness. Everyday people choose lies over truth. Everyday we all have to make those same choices. Joshua challenged Israel:

“If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15).

“No one can serve two masters,” Jesus said (Matthew 6:24). We must learn to choose the superior ways of the Spirit over the inferior ways of the world. This choice should be a “can of corn” for a Christian (That means easy). Choose to follow Jesus.

Lonnie Davis

Here is one of my video sermons. To view it, click here: VIEW

Approaching eighty years, he had been frugal and had provided well for his financial needs. He came by my office to say hi. It was not the visit that surprised me, but how he got there. Sidney had a can route that he ran every day. He put wire baskets on his old fashioned bicycle and would ride up and down his self-appointed route and pick up cans on the side of the road. He was not doing it to keep the highways clean. He was earning money, as meager as it might be.

One day I went out in front of the church building just as he rode up. His bicycle was what I would call a piece of junk. It was at least twenty years old, had only one gear, and wobbled as he rode. Since I knew he could afford anything he wanted to buy, I asked him, “Sidney, why don’t you buy you a new bike, a ten-speed bike.” He thought for a minute and then answered, “Well,” he said, “I can barely use the one gear I have.”

Sidney grew up in a time when one-speed bikes were the norm. It had been that way for seventy plus years and he was not going to change something that worked. He was right, his bike did work. It worked, but there was something better. A few years later, Sidney died and he still had that one speed bicycle.

It has been many years since that event, but every so often I remind myself about Sidney’s one-speed bicycle. I think about it when I get stuck in how things used to be. I think about it when the leaders gets stuck in how thing used to be. We love “how things used to be” because we know how things worked out when things were like they used to be. The future is unknown and in an effort to bring comfort to it, we cling to “how things used to be.”

You cannot go back in time. Well adjusted happy people are people who can look to the future and embrace whatever changes it brings. As Christians we do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. That is enough for us.

Sidney’s could have had a better bicycle, but he just would not challenge his old thinking when presented with something new.

Lonnie Davis

God is great and it is easy to think that he is not concerned with details. The Scriptures do not portray God as being unconcerned with details. Nowhere is this more evident than in the story of the third post- resurrection appearance of Jesus to His disciples.

It was getting toward evening and Peter decided to go fishing. The others disciples joined him. In the dawn of early morning, as the disciples were about 100 yards from shore they saw a stranger on the banks of the Galilee. He shouted to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” (John 21:5). When they said they had not, He gave them instructions about where to fish. Following his instructions, they caught so many fish one would think the nets would break. They came to the shore and ate with him. That is the quick summary of the story in John 21. A closer reading will reveal that God takes care of the little details in life.

When he told them where to fish, they caught 153 fish – large fish. (21:11).

When the disciples got to the shore, they found that Jesus had cooked breakfast for them. He had a fire of burning coal, some fish and some bread. (21:9).

Jesus served the bread and fish. (21:13). He didn’t just say, “There it is guys, help yourself.”

Several things about this story are amazing to those who think: (1) Upon seeing the risen Lord, someone still counted the fish, (2) Jesus brought bread for the disciples, (3) Jesus caught fish before they even saw him, (4) Jesus cooked breakfast. (4) Jesus served the breakfast.

Life is about the little details. Those who will not pay attention to the little details will have a hectic life. They will constantly feel like the wheels are coming off or life is unraveling before their eyes. Someone has to make the fire. Someone has to count the fish. Someone has to serve the bread. Someone has to do the little things.

Mountains are made of little stones. Miles are covered by little steps. Love is show with little acts. Successful lives are built on little things. If God takes care of the little things, then surely we must do the same.

Lonnie Davis

The drive from my house to the church building is a beautiful drive. Every day I get to drive a couple of miles through a state park and year round it is beautiful. In the winter, the snow can hang onto the tree limbs that outline the road. In the spring the new growth is amazing. In the fall, the changing of the colors is a site to see. I love it.

A couple of weeks ago something happened to ruin it – well, at least a part of it. Someone accidentally ran over a skunk. I know it was an accident because no one would ever do such a crazy thing on purpose.

For the past few days, when I drive down that beautiful road there is a section of the drive that stinks. Over the past two weeks it has gotten a little better, but it still stinks.  I have seen policemen pull over and remove the bodies of dead animals from the highways, but no one has removed this dead skunk. During these two weeks, I have been reminded of several truths from this incident.

1. A mess is a mess, even when it is an accident.

Many people excuse every terrible thing they have done with a "I didn’t mean to." Children think that an apology is all it takes to make everything okay. I sometimes appreciate an apology, but a stink is still a stink. Do not focus on the word "sometimes" in the last sentence. A true apology is always appreciated, but there are people who apologize, but never try to fix anything. That is not a real apology.

2. Sometime things happen in life that you can’t fix.

No one wanted to clean up the mess, so we just have to wait till it goes away on its own. David asked for forgiveness from his sin. God forgave him, but the sword never departed from his house. Jacob wrestled with an angel till the angel touched him in the hip and for the rest of his life he limped. Even with forgiveness there are often consequences.

3. The smell will eventually go away.

Right now it may seem like you will never get past your problem. Don’t be impatient, this too will pass. I love the fellow who was asked what his favorite Bible verse was and he quoted "it came to pass." What ever your hard spot is, it will pass. It always does. The phrase "it came to pass" is found 453 times in the KJV.

This skunk too will pass.

Lonnie Davis