Taking A Stand
One day when we were out to sea, the captain had his meal with the other officers of the ship and they all sat around this large table, and one of the Lieutenants kept taking the Lord’s name in vain. Every other sentence was “Jesus blankity-blank Christ” this, and “Jesus blankity-blank Christ” that, and so finally Wil could stand it no longer. Wil wasn’t the kind to take the subtle approach, so the next time this Lieutenant said the Lord’s name in vain; Wil looked across the table and said, “Lieutenant, your wife is a tramp!” Everyone at the table went silent. “What did you say Chaplain?” “I said that your wife is a tramp!” “Chaplain, I would hate to have to whoop you right here in front of all these people.” And Wil said, “Why is that offensive to you? It’s because your wife means a lot to you. I have sat here and listened to you drag the name of my Lord and Savior through the mud, and He means more to me than even my wife and kids. So when you take His name in vain like that, you are lucky that I haven’t whooped you right here in front of all these people.”
The captain said, “Wil, you made your point. Now let’s get back to dinner.” And the guy didn’t mention the Lord’s name in vain the rest of the cruise, at least not in the presence of Wil. He also never came to the chapel service as well. Now when opposition to your faith arises, you may want to be more tactful than Wil was, but there will come a time when you will be confronted because of your belief in Jesus Christ and you will have to take a stand either by your words or your choices in life. When that time comes will you find the courage and the boldness to stand up for your Lord Jesus Christ? Or will you conform to the world and fall back into a corner?
Pastor Barry Robinson
Williamstown United Methodist Church
To be made New
Years later, the young girl had had enough. She came back to Grandma’s house and like she did when she was younger, come Sunday she went to church.
When she walked in the door, the looks on the faces of the church members told the story. Praying for a prostitute is one thing, but sitting next to one on Sunday morning is something entirely different. But when she took her seat, one of the old saints of the church walked up to her and sat next to her. And then another, and then another.
The preacher preached that day on the text ‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” And as he spoke on the love of Christ, this prostitute’s heart was warmed. And when he said that God’s love for us is unchanging, she teared up. And then when the invitation was given, this woman who had spent years on the streets giving her body out to a different man each night came forward to give her heart to Christ. With tears she told the preacher her life story, and asked if God could forgive all that.
The preacher said not only could He, but He stands there waiting to forgive. The woman asked for forgiveness there at the altar, and the preacher concluded the story with a statement that has stuck with me ever since, and I hope it will stick with you as well. He said on that day, this girl came to the altar a prostitute, but she left that altar a virgin. Because of what Jesus has accomplished for us on Easter, our Heavenly Father stands ready to forgive and make us brand new.
In His Service,
Is Sin like a Stomach Ache???
Sometimes something looks good, sounds good and is very appealing to the eye, but when you devour it....it makes you sick. One night our family decided to fix homemade banana splits. We got some cookie dough ice cream (yum!) and some mint chocolate chip ice cream (double yum!). We even got some hot fudge, some caramel sauce, some cherries, some walnuts, and some whipped cream to go on top. All this sounds good and it would have been, except the store had a bag of Reese's Pieces on sale and I couldn't turn them down. Now, my mount ice cream of death looked great. Reese's Pieces taste great. So what better finishing touch to my delicious treat than half a bag of Reese's Pieces?
It sounded good, it looked good and the first few bites even tasted good, but then I hit the Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream....it didn't blend well with the caramel and the Reese's Pieces. It was worse than nasty, it was McNasty! But I was already invested and hooked so I had to finish it. Thank the Lord for Tums!
Now, it all looked good and was very appealing, but it was a tummy ache waiting to happen. Sin is a lot like that. It looks appealing, it looks fun, but once you are into it...that's when the pain begins. So my advice, don't even dive in. Stay away. That goes not only for sin....but for sinful desserts as well.
In His Service,
Watching Our Example
My Dad used to be a truck driver. Once when he was in Chicago, he was cut off by this car that was barreling out of a turn. My Dad let it go, but then this car kept swerving in and out of traffic, honking its horn at anything and everything. When the car made a lane change abruptly and almost ran my dad off the road, he blew his horn at the car. My Dad was soon awarded with a single finger salute. When my Dad pulled up beside this car he could see that the car was full of nuns and in the driver’s seat was an older nun with a cigarette dangling from her mouth. He started to say something then thought some things are best left alone.
My Dad was not a religious man, but needless to say this didn’t bring him any closer. I pray that car was full of women dressed like nuns, but it gets me to thinking about the example I set during the day. Is Christ evident in how I drive? How about how I act towards the cashier at Wal-Mart? How about when I don’t get exactly what I ordered at the fast food place? If I am wearing Christ, am I acting like Him? So watch your example and watch out for a car full of angry nuns.
Our Nature to Serve
Henri Nouwen once told a parable about an old man who used to meditate each day by the Ganges River in India. One morning he saw a scorpion floating on the water. When the scorpion drifted near the old man, he reached down to rescue it but was stung by the scorpion. A bit later he tried again and was stung again. The bite swelled and his hand was giving him much pain. Another man passing by saw what was happening and yelled at the man, "Hey, stupid old man, what's wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don't you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?" The old man calmly replied, "My friend, just because it is in the scorpion's nature to sting, does not change my nature to save."
Just because people reject Jesus, it doesn’t change His nature to love them and to pursue them. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. We are called to do the same.
Pastor Barry Robinson
Williamstown United Methodist Church
