"WHATEVER IS PURE" ARCHIVES July 2010

Budgeting is a good thing, don't get me wrong. Although I now live on a fixed disability income, it was not a huge adjustment as I learned early on in my missionary years that I do not have an infinite stream of ready funds in my bank account. God has always supplied my needs but as a wise Papa he has not always indulged me with my every want. I have learned to set aside money each month for yearly expenditures, such as mobility equipment maintenance and repair, medical costs not covered by my plan, eye glasses, etc. At certain times of the year, it is tempting to dip into this fund. After all, the money is in the bank! Why not take a little holiday? Why not get that software package that would make my life a lot easier? The simple answer is, I would not be a wise steward over the funds God has trusted in me. I often remind myself that transitory wants and whims of my everyday life have to give way to the mundane necessities.

Fortunately, I can lavishly and extravagantly spend the currency of the Kingdom of God with no thought of my funds running dry and with no worry about becoming a spiritual spendthrift*. Some days, God actually encourages me to spend much more of this currency than I want to spend. He reminds me he will always give me more than enough, for his currency is the currency of love. With such an abundant and ever present stream of resources, I have no need to set aside this precious commodity in a safety deposit box. There is no need for a rainy day fund when it comes to His love. God invites me to toss aside any worries that if I invest my love into those people who I know are transitory in my life today, I won't have enough for those who might have a great need for his love tomorrow. I have discovered this truth: the more I pour out his love unconditionally and without reservation, the more God increases my capacity to love.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16

With every sunrise we are presented a fresh, blank page in our life’s journal. The Lord is a God of new beginnings, and He gives us the freedom to fill each page with whatever we choose.

Because of the demands of modern life, with the breakneck hustle and bustle of daily existence, we often don’t even skim over our journal entries at the end of the day—or week, or year. If we could review the pages of our lives up until today, would we be pleased? Is God pleased? Would we find abundant living?

If we only scribble and scurry away the years that are given us, how remorseful a thing it will be after the last page is written. When we and God look back over the scrawled pages that led up to the last one, suppose they are filled with ink that is nonsense. Suppose all the pages are blurred and have no meaning. It could easily happen—and has—and does. Page-after-page of a life filled with hum-drum existence of meaningless life. What worse thing could happen for a Christian than to live out all his pages—come to the last one, and leave behind journals only worth burning.

Instead, let’s allow the Lord to lead us, inspire us, push and prod us to leave behind pages that are branded with words, deeds and prayers that influence lives for His kingdom. What else is relevant? What else will have any lasting purpose or meaning? Only God’s Word and eternal souls will remain. No matter what our age, it’s never too late to begin a life with a legacy of eternal value.
God can forgive the wasted pages of our lives and help us to savor the unblemished days ahead. We’ll need to slow down and remain single-minded on Him. Let’s make a commitment now to fill the unwritten pages, day-by-day, with lasting moments that will influence not only the eternal destiny of our fellow man, but also those who come after us. And then we’ll whisper, "Thank you, Lord, for abundant new beginnings. Let us walk with joy in Your Son—light through the rest of our lives’ pages."

We would come back to Thee, confessing that we are
not proud of the mistakes we have made, not too
proud of our record as we look back over the last year.
We seek now Thy forgiveness for our stupidity and
Our obstinacy, for the blindness of our hearts, for the
Wrong choices that grieved Thee and subtracted
From our own happiness. Peter Marshall

Dear Lord, please forgive us for the smallness of our thoughts
And words and deeds; for our lives that travel in endless
Circles that lead only back to ourselves, never reaching
Out to touch another life and make a difference
For eternity. Show us how to live. Amen

Ken Marler wrote an article a few years ago entitled, "IF CHURCHES WERE LIKE WAL-MART." That got my attention, because I’m not a big fan of Wal-Mart, but it is a wonderful article.

Marler tells the story of his 94 years old grandfather. His grandfather lives in It, Mississippi, off Interstate 55. Really, "It" Mississippi. Every Thursday his grandfather would drive 20 miles to the Wal-Mart. Why? Because Thursday is senior adult day at Wal-Mart. He gets his coffee for free on that day. Ken asked his grandfather why he would make a 40-mile round trip for a free cup of coffee – it seemed a bit ridiculous in the big scheme of things.

His Grandfather’s answer was telling. He said, "Yeah, I like the free coffee, and I like the way the girls there hug on me." One Thursday he showed up for his free coffee and the clerks had found out it was his birthday. When he entered the door there was a cake and balloons, candles and ice cream – even a newspaper photographer. Wal-Mart knows Ken Marler’s grandfather’s name. They know his birthday. They care about him. They treat him like family.

But, here’s the interesting thing. Grandpa Marler doesn’t attend church. His grandmother never misses, but grandpa hasn’t been in years. Why? Because his church is largely irrelevant; he gets at Wal-Mart what he does not get at church. At church he gets a sermon and a few songs. He gets a little guilt and a list of things he ought to be doing with his life. But at Wal-Mart he gets hugs. He gets connection with others. He gets community, a sense of belonging.

In short – he gets what both Paul McCartney and the Apostle Paul said was most important: All we need is love. "Look at them – how they love one another; this is how the world will know you are Christ’s disciples."

©2009 Ronnie McBrayer
Contact Ronnie at his website for permission before using any of his wonderful articles. You will be blessed by the visit!

Living and dying, choices to make;
Love or hurt others in turn.
Every day of our lives, the choices will come;
Will our words heal or burn?
Casual comments we carelessly toss;
Not thinking about where they’ll land.
Words can be said for gain or for loss;
Taking things way out of hand.
The example for us clearly can be
Jesus the Christ, Son of God.
Living and dying, His life set the bar;
His vic’try the measuring rod.
Led by His life, example now set;
We can choose His or our way.
Living in sin or victory now
Is our choice for every new day.

As of May 2012, "WHATEVER IS PURE" ARCHIVES will no longer be seeking submissions. As most authors and poets now have their own blogs, we noticed a significant drop in submissions over the past year and felt it was best to move on to other endeavors.

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