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Mar.9 /10
Ploughing
Jesus makes an interesting statement in Luke 9:62.
“ And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (KJV) It gives us very clear
insight into how Jesus wants us to live.
Ploughs in Bible times were very different than the
ones used today. Today’s ploughs are pulled by powerful tractors and have many
blades and can turn a great amount of land at one time. Ploughs in Bible times
had only one blade and were pulled by either one or two animals.
My understanding of those ploughs is that the
animals would stand and wait until the operator took hold of the plough and tilt
it into position. It is then the animals would begin to pull. Once the plough
began to move it would be necessary for the farmer to keep his eyes to the front
and not look back, to make sure the animal and plough go in a straight line.
Jesus is giving us similar advice. Once we take
hold of the plough, the Christian life, we cannot look back to our former life.
Following Christ is a commitment for life. One that necessitates keeping our
eyes forward as one using a plough.
Mar. 23 /10
Default Programme
All computers have ‘default programmes’. These are
programmes that the computer will go to automatically to do certain tasks. If
you want to play a CD in your computer, there will be a programme that your
computer will automatically open to play the disc. Sometimes these are
preselected when you buy the computer and at other times you can download a new
programme and make it the default programme. They are useful because they save
you the trouble of choosing, looking for and then opening the programme, it is
all done automatically.
In our daily lives we also have ‘default
programmes’. If we have a financial problem surface in our lives, there is a
place or an attitude to which we will automatically turn. When we become ill
there is a place to which our minds will wander. When someone treats us poorly,
there is an attitude to which we will default.
Where is your default programme? It should be in
God. He is the place to which we should automatically turn in times of hardship
or trouble. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus guides us to our default programme. “Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”
(KJV)
Mar. 31 /10
Shoe Horns
The other day I went to the store to buy a shoe
horn. When I got home I discovered there were two in the package. It appears
they are sold in pairs, the same as shoes. I almost returned them. They were
not labeled and I didn’t know which one was for the right shoe and which one for
the left. Then my wife explained to me the intricacies of shoe horn
technology. It’s a good thing men like me have wonderful, intelligent wives to
explain the complexities of life that keep us from embarrassment.
There are many times in life where we need
instruction or clarification. We can turn to instruction manuals or to good
friends for advice. Often they are able to help, but to where do we turn when
their help is inadequate. Easy, we turn to the one instruction manual, the
Bible, and to the one good friend, Jesus. Between these two we will find all
the help we need.
There is an old hymn that begins, “What a Friend we
have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!” Between prayer and the Bible we should be able to
find all the instruction and comfort that we will ever need.
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