Rain, rain...

It’s nice to see rain again. For the last couple weeks, we’ve enjoyed seemingly flawless weather, except for the fact that we’ve not gotten much, if any, moisture. My yard is proof positive of that. There are large patches that that remind me of desert colors as opposed to a nice, rich green that grass is supposed to have. The trees even seem like they needed it. I’m looking out my office window at a house across the road and in their yard, there is a tree with one branch that seems to think it’s October instead of mid August. It’s just been dry but I haven’t noticed it because the blue skies and cool temps have shielded me against the fact that it needs to be cloudy and wet every once in a while in order to give more color to those blue, cool days. So, I’m glad it’s raining today. It won’t be long until we won’t have green grass to cut and enjoy, so it’s good that our yards are getting a shot in the arm here late in the summer. Enjoy it while you can.

Proverbs 20:3 says, “It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel”. Let me also quote the NLT, which says, “Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling”. If you know me and much about my past, you know that growing up I was a “good kid”. That basically meant that I didn’t get into fights at school, got average grades, and my parents didn’t have to beat me in public. I never really understood the idea behind getting into a fight. I just couldn’t get how two guys going to the IGA parking lot or someone’s back yard and hitting one another could settle a difference of opinion or prove that one guy deserved the privilege of going out with whatever girl over the other. Two movies come to mind as I write this. The first is a movie about a group of overworked and depressed guys, would get together once a week and fight. There were rules to be followed, but basically the two guys in the middle would wail on each other until the stress of the day wore off or they forgot what had gotten them fired up and one would tap out. The other is Maverick, in which card shark and gun-slinger Brett Maverick (Mel Gibson), who had a knack for misquoting his sagely father said about getting into a gun fight, “He who runs away today can run away another day”. I think there’s a lot of wisdom in that. Sure, the guys who got all bloodied up can forget about their problems for a while, but the problems are still there. It may seem cowardly to avoid a fight, but the essence of the Scripture here is not creating a problem in the first place. That’s the issue. You aren’t a chicken if you try and live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18). God says that’s a mark of honor. Fools think with their fists (or maybe a war of words)! Keep your blood where it should be (on the inside) and honor God by living at peace.

Hey, Youth Sunday is next week, Aug 29. Sign up for your place of service on my list on Sunday.
Make a spot on your calendars for Windows of the World & the National Missionary Convention, Oct 1-3.

Later…