Cleaning Out to be More Useful

I finally got the car in the garage after four years. There has always been room for it. But, up until now, we have needed the space for storage. First we needed it for the lawn mowers and tools. Then it was one child’s furniture or another’s. Most recently we used the space for the materials for the fence until it was finished.

Last week we looked at the garage and decided to get organized. We divided the stuff into “keep,” “give away,” and “throw away” piles. Then we bought some new shelving that would go along the wall. We were both amazed to see that once the piles were dispersed, and the “keep” pile was shelved, we could pull the car in the garage with room to spare. The biggest surprise was how much we kept. Our problem was not space, it was organization.

I find that time works like my garage. Sometimes I just have to take an inventory and divide my activities into “piles.” Then I have to organize the “keep” pile. But when I get done it is amazing how much better everything looks. I may even have time for something I want to do, and not just the things I need to do.

In Psalm 45:1, the psalmist declares, “My tongue in the pen of a ready writer.” In those days writing was a complicated activity that made Scribes and educated profession. To say that a writer was ready meant that he was seated before a table with his scroll unrolled to the right place and all his writing tools and inks were laid out and organized for his immediate use. This is how we are to be before God. We should be organized and ready to be useful for Him.

As the psalmist said, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King.” It is another way for us to say, “I am ready to be useful, Lord.”

Bro. Robin

Pray for Rain

I am still trying to figure out if a 40% chance of rain means that the odds are 40% that it might rain, or does it mean that it will definitely rain 40% of the day. The day of the ballgame we had a 40% chance of rain and the game ended up getting rained out in the fifth inning. On the other hand, yesterday there was a 60% chance of rain and I do not recall seeing much, if any, rain at all. Joyce and I were talking about it and decided we would like to know the weather forecasters percentage of accuracy.

In the Old Testament they did not have weather forecasters with fancy equipment and statistical analysis. They had Prophets. When Elijah said it would not rain, it did not rain. When He said it was going to rain you better run for cover. It did not matter that there was only one little cloud in the sky. God is not hindered by relative humidity. (1 Kings 18:44)

Prayer made all the difference. James sites Elijah’s example when he says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, (James 5:16). The difference is Prayer and the fact that the prophets tied everything they did to the spiritual condition they were trying to change. Elijah was not interested in just getting things wet. He wanted to see the country change directions. He wanted to see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Do you want to see a change in your life? Pray for rain. I am not talking about the wet stuff. I am talking about the Spiritual stuff. God told Solomon, “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seed my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 nkjv)

Put your trust in God’s Word. He has the highest percentage of accuracy. He predicts 100% chance of good weather – in Heaven!!

Dr. Robin