My Old Lenten-Appropriate Shirt

Thursday, March 9, 2023

For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.  Isaiah 43:19

Our missional group in South Davidson County cooperates to provide midweek Lenten services and lunch for the community.  It’s a small town, so most everyone knows everyone.  It’s a relaxed, joyful lunch hour of worship, soup, and sandwiches before heading back to work, or whatever you do with your day.

Since this is my first year in the community I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’d been told it was quite informal.  While I was getting dressed for the first service of the season three weeks ago, I pulled out my old Lenten-appropriate shirt, quite the liturgical purple!  My bride walked past me and questioned my sanity.  You’re not wearing THAT are you?  I immediately thought:  Fashion police have arrived. 

What followed was a brief discussion…well, it was more of a one-sided sermon from the pew…about not wearing a twenty-year-old rumpled, faded, and threadbare shirt to a worship service.  I began to protest; I wasn’t leading this service, so I didn’t need to get all formal.  But after taking a closer look at my old favorite Lenten shirt, I decided the fashion cop could probably get a conviction if the thing went to trial.  I upgraded my wardrobe choice with a deep sigh.

It was one of those moments when you realize you’ve become your father.  If my Dad liked a shirt, he wore it…often.  And when Mom did the laundry, the first thing Dad would hunt for in the pile of clean stuff was that shirt.  I guess my father understood the old saying:  If it ain’t broke…!

Understanding that we humans become comfortable with our surroundings is a necessary thing.  We lived on the North side of Jacksonville, Florida in the 1990’s.  Just across the river was a paper mill.  Whenever the wind changed, you knew there was a paper mill close-by.  The old story my friend Rodney used to tell about that mill was about a family of skunks moving from Georgia to Florida.  As they were crossing the bridge one of the little baby skunks asked:  Mama…oh, Mama, what IS that SMELL?  The mama skunk said:  I’m not really sure, darlin’, but we got to get us some o’ that!

In our daily lives the routines, familiar surroundings, and possessions can become our lives.  It’s a way of reliving the past, and being relieved of the thought of facing the future.  Wearing my old, comfortable, Lenten-appropriate shirt, may have been a connection for me with bygone meaningful moments spent in Lent’s confession, forgiveness, and spiritual growth.  But, without that history, to others it just looks like an old man in a faded and tattered purple shirt.

For You Today 

If you’ve got some old garments you favor, or habits, or thoughts, or anything else that cling to you, like barnacles cling to the bottom of a boat, you may be carrying a little too much weight for this journey.  Remember, you’re not home yet…so remember to travel light…let Jesus have your full attention.  He specializes in doing new stuff!

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:  New Creation  or  Trapped!       

Title Image: via Pixabay.com    Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

The Hardest Change

Monday, November 14, 2022

So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.  And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”  Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.  If you are a thief, quit stealing.  Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.  Don’t use foul or abusive language.  Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.  And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.  Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.  Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.  

Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2

When you live (as I do) with someone who loves to shake things up a bit, moving the furniture around is as much a part of living as breathing-in and out.  My father-in-law, Tony, was a mechanic/truck-driving/hard-working family man.  His wife, Sofie, was a homemaker superb.  She loved to move the furniture, and passed along that gene to her daughter.  (Pray for me, here, I’m now on thin ice)! At the end of a hard day’s work, Tony would come into the house, sit on his favorite chair to take off his socks (the dirty boots were already off tired feet at the door).  One such day he followed the routine, but sat down on the floor.  He hadn’t noticed Sofie moved the chair.  From that day-on he was much more alert!

As you might imagine, this husband learned Tony’s lesson about rechecking the layout of the furniture.  For instance, my study desk has been located in virtually every room of our house, with the obvious exceptions of kitchen and bathroom.  In a way, that’s not a bad thing.  I get a new outlook when the desk shifts, and it’s a good thing to not get too complacent.  Fresh starts can be quite invigorating!

So…what has all that to do with Paul’s admonition to the believers at Ephesus?  The word is change.  Paul was saying no small thing about changing from foul language, lying, anger, and other forms of abusive living.  And, if you’ve found yourself convicted in any of these life-defining sins, and tried to change…well, you know exactly how hard it is to break the cycle, and gain victory.  Like Tony, sitting down in the same spot is a demon that will eventually engineer your downfall.

Granted, it’s not a simple thing to change…just ask anyone addicted to Reese’s peanut-butter cups, or ice cream!  (If you’re reading this with a bowl of banana pudding and spoon in hand, I’m praying for you at this very moment).  If there’s anything a human, caught in the trap of addiction, needs (desperately) it is the kind of encouragement that opens up the possibilities of breaking-free.  And this is exactly the point of Paul’s appeal to change:  there IS hope!  Paul is talking to the church, some, or perhaps many, who were ensnared in habitual sins that were destroying their witness of the Christ of victorious living, let-alone their own peace of mind.  Just the fact that Paul merely uses simple mandates, stop, don’t, quit, along with even simpler encouragements, give, be kind, encourage, and live, indicates that God is all about making a pathway for us to change.

For You Today  

The hardest change, ever, isn’t voting-in a new politician, or moving the furniture in the house…it’s always been breaking sin’s grip on our lives.  And there is no easy solution…and it’s never been about your resolve or inner-strength. 

The only real solution takes blood…that which stained a cross on a hill.

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: 

       Drunkard Road   and   Lenten Walk - Part 19

Images: Title image Pixabay.com Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©