Friday, August 5, 2022

The fruit of a righteous person is a tree of life, and one who harvests souls is wise.  Proverbs 11:30^(ERV)

You get a lot of think time when pressure-washing.  My machine is old, leaky, and was never a fun ride; but it works…and forces me to take note of what it teaches.  These are five thoughts about sharing your faith with others:

#1. Go Slow

It doesn’t help a pressure washer’s performance to “jiggle” the wand.  You may think so, but it then becomes more about your technique than what the machine was designed to do…clean throughly.  In sharing your faith with others, commit to taking on a project without jiggling.  Your friend’s soul is worth it.

#2. Remember What Does the Work

Like going slow (#1), letting the machine do the work will yield the best results.  The “machine” is a combination of your witness and willingness.  Sharing what has happened to you when God got through to your mind, heart, and soul, is what the Holy Spirit will use to reach another human soul. It’s never about fancy gimmicks; it’s all about God’s love, and our willingness to love others as He does.

#3. Keep the Gas and Oil Full

If the gas tank empties, you’re going nowhere in the cleaning business.  And if you don’t keep clean oil lubricating the engine, your machine may burn up – which, again, means you’re done.  Think of the gas as prayer.  As the engine depends on gasoline to keep going, so your witness depends on an uninterrupted stream of contact with God’s Holy Spirit.  And think of the oil as the reflecting pool God uses to help you remain functioning, and not overtaxed by the burden of the work.  My car is 10 years old and is approaching 200,000 miles…it still runs smoothly, quietly, and efficiently, because I missed zero oil changes!

#4. No Light Passes Over Hard Stains

There is a tendency to rush through any job, skipping over the hard stuff, just to get it done.  When you’re sharing Christ with the intention of helping another with his or her eternal soul, there are some things that will require much more attention than a simple exchange of information.  Be ready to hit the hard stains, some of them may be the tipping point of a new soul born into the Kingdom.

#5. Break Before You Break

My pressure washer always seems ready to serve, except when I make him work a whole day.  When that machine gets tired and overheated, it’s best to let him rest and cool-down a bit.  I’ve learned to work in 1-2 hour shifts, and give the machine a rest (along with the operator).  When sharing your faith, remember you are in the stressful arena of eternal soul matters.  Responsibility can make any machine overheat.  You’re no different, and God wants you whole and useful, and joyful.  Too much strain, without appropriate breaks can lead to a break-down.

For You Today

One of the best lessons I’ve learned is a pressure washer is not much good in storage.  Unless it is used, it will rust, and need a lot of repair before it is ready to help again.  Same thing with your witness…it was designed to be at-hand, and always at the ready to lend a hand to someone else’s soul-cleansing.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic explore some of these:  Churchspeak and Forgiven Witnesses

[1] Images:  WikimediaCommons     Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Roots That Don't Let Go

Monday, July 18, 2022

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.  Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.  Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.  Colossians 2:6-7

I’m “second-career” in ministry.  The first (beside my 2-year stint in the Army) was 10 years with an insurance company as a sales agent.  We had office meetings every Friday morning to share sales results.  The meeting always included a 5-10 minute “inspirational” talk by our manager, Frank.  He would always leave us with a memorable sentence or quip.  One has stuck in my mind for the past 50 years:  

I’m not sure where he got that bit of wisdom, but it makes sense.  Of course Frank was pointing at the hard work of keeping at the tasks that brought success, even when you’re too tired, bored, scared, lazy, or ready to cry.  It’s a matter of having faith in what you’re doing to overcome the temptation to quit doing that which will bring success.

Now, that’s a great self-help/motivational-tool for those of us who would rather be sitting in the corner watching TV, reading a book, or surfing Facebook, when you should really be doing your job.  It also serves as a brief introduction to the Apostle Paul’s instruction to the church. 

Without mincing words, my old boss, Frank, would say Paul was saying: 

You started by faith…don’t stop.

That’s an encouragment we all need at times.  The temptation to give up, toss it all, or just, plain, quit…is greater during stressful times.  And haven’t the past couple of years been stressful?

·       A contentious presidential election, complete with riot and assault on our nation’s capitol…

·       Covid…and now, Monkeypox…

·       Inflation at the gas pumps, grocery stores, and deflation of the American dream bubbles…

·       War in Ukraine, with the U.S. and Russia doing the Cold War dance again.

Going back to Paul’s “basics” of the Christian faith is what the Apostle says is the way to continue following Jesus…the Christian faith is all about walking by faith.  We continue to follow Him in the same way we began with Him…on faith that He is who He said he is, and will do what He said He’d do.  That is not rocket-science, it’s continuing to trust the roots of how God hard-wired us to trust His grace will see us through whatever circumstances the world throws at us.

For You Today

This is no sales meeting, and I’m not Frank; it’s just an ordinary Monday, and you’ve got some praying, ministering, sharing, loving, and blessed living to do, both in giving and receiving. 

Keep going, keep listening, keep being still, keep being busy, keep being His.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts on Rocky Road Devotions. 

To dig deeper into today’s topic or Scripture text:  Where Are You Going?  and Recalculating

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©