Month: September 2018

Once when I was doing a little shopping in a local store, I noticed something odd. Cokes by the case were a lot higher than usual. I mean a lot higher. I looked again and saw the problem. It wasn’t a case. It was a pack of 32 cokes. The price was about 50% higher than a normal case, but then it was bigger than a normal case of 24. But wait! It was not a case and a half of cokes it was a case and four cans short of a case and a half for the price of a case and a half. Now if this is confusing to you then the marketers have done as they intended. They did not want you to do the math. It was their way of raising the price without you noticing. Coca-Cola is not the only company to do this. Candy bars got smaller for the same price. Cereal companies took out just a few ounces of cereal and kept the size of the box the same.

A few years back I went through a drive through at a barbecue restaurant. I wanted to buy a pound of barbecue to take home. I examined the menu, but could not find a pound of barbecue anywhere. I found sandwiches, drinks, and buns, but the barbecue was listed only by the half-pound. I asked the girl at the window, “How much is a pound of barbecue?” She gave me the price of a half-pound. I didn’t care about that, so ask her again, “How much is a pound?” “Oh,“ she said, “we do not sell it by the pound.” Now I can do math and know that you can buy two half-pounds and that equals a pound. I also know why they would not advertise the pound price. They thought it seemed cheaper by the half-pound. In Puerto Rico you cannot by a gallon a gasoline. You can only buy it by the liter but 4 liters does not equal a gallon. You don’t know how much a gallon of gasoline is!

Gasoline by the liter, cokes by the case plus ten, and small portions all designed to fool us. These things cause people to be very skeptical. Sometimes the skepticism even turns to God and people doubt God.

We must never let the world erode our trust in God.

Moses wrote, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.” (Numbers 23:19)  God does not lie. He does not disappoint. He does not fail. He does not try to trick or deceive. God is faithful. As the book of Lamentations says, ““His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Lonnie Davis

Many years ago while driving down a Texas freeway, I looked down and noticed that my fuel was running low. Spotting a service station up ahead, I pulled in and filled my tank. Five miles further down the freeway, my little Volkswagen sputtered, died, and coasted to the side of the road. Unable to get it running again, I called for help and left the car. A relative towed the car to his house and fixed it. It was a simple fix, one that even I could do. The problem was that the last batch of gasoline had been contaminated with water.

 Sometimes in my life I too am doing fine when suddenly I sputter and stop. When I do, I try to remember the lessons learned from that night:

 I learned that if I put bad fuel into my tank (my heart), it will not worked it should. Before that night I would have guessed a glass of water in 10 gallons of gasoline might cause sputtering, but not a total failure of the engine. I was wrong. David said, “Your Word have I put in my heart that I might not sin”” (Psalm 119:11). The right fuel for the Christian heart is the word of God. The wrong fuel is any thing that will contaminate it.

 I learned that a thing does not have to be all bad to cause failure. I did not put all water into the tank. I put mostly gasoline with a little water. People talk about how much good someone does and somehow think that will make up for the evil behavior, but a little bad destroys a lot of good. Solomon wrote, “As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor” (Ecc 10:1). It does not take much poison in a glass to make the whole drink poison.

 I learned that just because I thought I was doing right, did not mean it was the right thing to do. I thought I was putting pure gasoline in, but I was not. Good intentions do not overcome the bad actions (or dumb behavior). “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).

 I learned that you will not have a good result until you remove the bad and put the good in its place. Once the pure gasoline replaced the contaminated fuel, everything started working as it should.

Lonnie Davis

HeartWord – Proverbs 4:23

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

People today are living longer than at any time in modern history. That is great, but one of the saddest thing to see is watching someone outlive their memories. We call it dementia. Our memories make us who we are. Today’s article is about memories. I titled it:

Memories

 While preparing for a move, I picked up a box of old things from years gone by. It was filled with old papers, a few photos, and old books I had not seen for years. Among those old books was a little, brown leather New Testament. Thirty years earlier that New Testament had been my favorite “preaching Bible.” I read a few notes that I had written on its pages and it brought a smile to my heart. Old memories can be refreshing to the soul.

 God also values memories. He put a rainbow in the sky so that we would remember (Gen 9:16). As the Israelites crossed the Jordan, God commanded a monument of memorial stones to be built so Israel would remember how He had delivered them from slavery (Joshua 4:6). As one of His last acts on earth, Jesus set up a memorial meal for Christians. (Matthew 26, 1 Cor 11:24)  He said we should eat this meal “In memory of Me.”

 God calls us to remember that He is God and what he has done for us. The memorial stones in Joshua do not just tell those people there was a God who delivered, but also served to remind each new generation that God still delivers. On the Lord’s Day as the Memorial meal is passed, we do not see grape juice or the unleavened bread, but the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. We see the love of God who gave His Son to the nails so that we might have eternal life.

 I love the story of Robert E. Lee who shortly after the Civil War, was visiting a Kentucky lady. She took him to the remains of a grand old tree at the front of her formerly great mansion. The North and the South had fought a bitter battle in her yard, and the limbs and the trunk of that old tree had been destroyed by Northern artillery fire.  She looked to Lee to speak some word of consolation. Lee paused for a moment and then said, “Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it.”

 There are some things we ought to forget, i.e. old hurts, old pains, and old enemies. There are other things we must not forget. We must never forget all of the good things God has done for us. We must never forget that God still has a hand in our daily lives. We must never forget that God always loves us.

Lonnie Davis

HeartWord – Luke 22:19

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Did you ever trust in a car that left you stranded on the side of the road? How about trusting a friend who disappointed you. Today’s article reminds us about what or who we can trust. It is called

Trusting Iron Chariots

As Israel entered the Promised Land, the first city, Jericho fell in spectacular fashion. The cities of Ai, Jerusalem, and Hebron were soon to follow. It was not easy but with God on their side, the Israelites conquered the enemy. 

Joshua noted, “One of you routs a thousand because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.” (Joshua 23:10)

With God’s miracles and the leadership of Joshua, nothing could go wrong. At least that is how Israel felt, but Judges 1:18-19 tells us,

 “The men of Judah also took Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron–each city with its territory. The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had iron chariots.”

 Notice the end of that verse, “They were unable to drive the people from the plains because they had iron chariots.” 

Think of “Iron Chariots” as tanks of that time. They were indeed formidable weapons, but it was not really the iron chariots that stopped Israel. The iron chariots made the task harder, but neither iron chariots nor tanks can thwart God.

Years earlier the Israelite soldiers had seen the mighty Egyptian army, along with her “iron chariots” perish in the Red Sea. Now Israel found it easier to leave the plains people alone than to battle against iron chariots. Israel opted for ease rather than obedience.

 There is an story about an old man who at a county fair was offered a chance to take his first airplane ride. After some persuading he agreed. When the flight was over the pilot asked the old man how he liked his first flight. He answered, “It was pre ty good, but to tell you the truth I never did put my full weight on it.” 

Israel saw the iron chariots and decided not to put their full weight on God. Israel should have known that Iron chariots cannot stop God or God’s people. Nothing can stop God’s people as long as they are doing God’s will. Only the desire for ease can do that.

What does God want you to do? Do it.

With God as your partner neither iron chariots nor tanks can stop you.

 Lonnie Davis

HeartWord – Philippians 4:5

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

NOTE: There ought not be any harsh spirited Christians. If there is such, make sure it is not you!