Stay in it!

I spent Friday and Saturday at Circle C Baptist camp, just outside of Lexington Kentucky. They were having their annual Kentucky shootout. It is an event for men and boys to spend some time shooting, competing, and learning from God's Word.
Friday night, Pastor Don Letson spoke about never quitting on God. Most people who were in attendance probably applied this more to their Christian service than their daily walk with God.
But I know there are some people who might need to use this to look at their daily walk, or what used to be a daily walk with Christ.
I wish I had an actual recording of the message to share with you, because I know that I will fail, and therefore not even try to share the same powerful message that he delivered from God. Hopefully though I can say something that someone might need from what I gleaned off of his preaching.
While brother Letson was preaching, I let God work on me and kept my thoughts about myself. But I will be honest with you. As I've been driving the last 3 or 4 hours, and chewing on it, God has repeatedly put different people on my mind that I wish could have been there for the message.
I won't be so bold as to say that I've been where you have been, or that I have experienced what you have experienced, but I know that there are others who have. It doesn't really matter though because your problems and experiences are always going to be yours and yours alone. There is no grand scale that I can look at to weigh your tribulations against those of others. but if you are using those experiences and tribulations as an excuse to not continue with God, please keep reading and see what Paul went through in his service to God.

Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.  Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.  Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?  If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
2 Corinthians 11:23‭-‬30 KJV

I want to give a quick caveat to the tone that Paul was using here. When dealing with the Corinthian Church, a very proud and carnal Church, Paul had to speak on their level to get their attention. Then, once their attention was gained, he laid the truth on them.
Having said that, let me assure you that Paul was not actually boasting here. But all of the trials that he went through are real, and most are recorded throughout the New Testament.
We love comparing ourselves to others. I think it mostly stems from that small measure of pride that we just can't seem to rid ourselves of. But, it is not always a bad thing. After all, Paul tells us that he is given to us to be an example of how to follow Christ.

I know you were hurt. I know you reacted bad to some things. I know you did some things you wish you would have never done. I know it seemed like you were all alone and that all of this "Bible stuff" was useless. And I know that there are probably many things that I do not know about you or your circumstances, that caused you to walk away from God.
But what I do know is that he is still right where he's always been, waiting for you to return and someday see why it was worth not giving up.
Paul never gave up. I would hate to have to go through all that he suffered. I don't know that I could go through all that he suffered. At least, not on my own. Paul was not alone in his suffering.

For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
2 Corinthians 12:6‭-‬10 KJV

This is where Paul sets aside speaking on their level, and just starts plowing the truth.
God's Grace is still sufficient for us. It doesn't matter what your burden is. It doesn't matter how much someone hurt you. It doesn't matter how much you feel that you might have failed.
What matters is that God's grace is still sufficient for you. He has never left you. He has never turned his back on you. Like the father of The Prodigal Son, he is standing there looking down the road, waiting to see you coming home. And just as the father of The Prodigal Son, when you make a step in that direction he will run to you, wrap his arms around you and bring you back into his fold.

Paul never gave up. In trials and tribulations that would have killed most of us, he kept his eyes on what lay before him. He knew that one day he would be able to see and say that it was truly worth it all. He kept going, and eventually was able to say...

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:6‭-‬8 KJV

To quote my favorite radio duo, "Stay in it!"
If you have already quit, come back where you belong.

Entitled Much?

Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:  And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.  But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
Colossians 3:22‭-‬25 KJV

I will admit, that the scripture on using only has a cursory application to the incident that sparked my desire to write this blog entry. But here goes, anyway.
Well obviously, Paul is writing the scriptures to Christians. His use of the word servants does not mean that this only applies to a slave. It has a great application for all employers, contractors, or any other hired individuals.
I will just go ahead and give you the story. As I'm standing in a truck stop trying to decide what type of snack I want to buy, I hear a male employee talking about cleaning the showers. I missed the first part of the conversation with his co-workers, but he basically said that he was tired of putting forth the extra effort in cleaning the showers because it wasn't as if anyone was tipping him anyway.
For those not familiar with how truck stop showers work, anyone can stop at a truck stop and pay around $10 to get the use of a usually clean, private shower. If you stop at a sketchy looking truck stop, you might have a sketchy looking shower. But most major chains have very clean, modern showers. This happened to be at a Pilot in Mebane, North Carolina. Truck drivers also get a free shower for buying 50-100 gallons of fuel or more. It's been awhile since I've had to shower at a truck-stop.
I have left a tip before, but it is usually only when I see that the person cleaning the showers has left a note saying that they hope everything is up to my expectations. I know the purpose of that note is to bait me into a tip, but I have no problem dropping a dollar or two if I can tell they did a very good job cleaning the shower. But, that should never be expected. The person who cleans that shower is getting paid an hourly rate to do so. They agreed to that when they took the job. Only at larger truck stops do they usually hire people to specifically clean the showers and not really have any other duties. So at this truck stop, cleaning showers was side duty for other store personnel. Leaving tips in a shower is not even something that is common in the trucking industry. It's just another thing that we can blame on the Starbucks tip jar. There are certain service Industries that have always involved tipping, regardless of whether they were being paid a full salary or a waitress salary that expect tips. Delivery guys, household goods Movers, obviously waitresses and Waiters, and a few others are jobs that should typically expect to get a tip unless they screw something up. But ever since Starbucks started sticking out a jar to tip people who do nothing more than what they were paid to do, every other worker has tried to figure out some way to make tips.
This guy was brazen enough to register his complaint with several customers within earshot.
I obviously have no idea whether he is a Christian or not, but I am sure that all of us are guilty of expecting something extra when all we have done is what is our reasonable service. You can go look up Romans 12:1 on your own, but it is obvious that even God can see that some people think they have done something special, when all they have done are the simple things they're supposed to do.
In Colossians, Paul is specifically speaking to those who serve others in a secular sense. I have been guilty of awaiting a pat on the back for doing something that I thought was above and beyond. Occasionally, I have actually gotten that pat on the back. But on at least one occasion, the pat-on-the-back came as more of a reaction to the laziness of co-workers than the above expectation service that I rendered.
Don't work for your check, or for a tip. Give extra effort in everything you do, because you are doing it as unto the Lord. This is especially essential when you are known to be a Christian.

Yes, I can be offended

You know what is offensive to me?
After every shooting, the left loves to say that we put our right to bear arms above the lives of children and other victims. They pretend that it is impossible for us to cherish both.
The "we" I mentioned includes gun owners, the NRA, and every other citizen that values our God-given right to self defense, guaranteed by the United States Constitution.
Not wanting to toot my own horn, let me tell you what my friends, part of the "we", do.
My gun owner friends work suicide hotlines. They volunteer time away from their lives to try and save the lives of those who intend to take their own.
My friends give of their time to counsel women who are considering to murder their own children before they are born. When they could be spending happy moments with their own families, they are crying on the phone, pleading with a stranger so that some unknown child can be born.
My friends are foster parents, as was I. They interrupt their own lives to swoop in and provide a stable home for hurting children whose parents have some issues to work out. They then must endure the pain of seeing this child, who has become part of their very soul, taken away when the state decides to return them home. They repeat the process, knowing that is simply how it works. They never expect to keep every child, but they cannot help but love them.
My friends adopt children for similar reasons as those who foster. They spend time, money, and much emotion on doing all they can to change a child's life. My adopted son is only my adopted son when I speak of adoption. The rest of the time, he is simply my son. No desire to have a son exists that is not fulfilled by my relationship with him.
My friends are among the most generous in charitable giving. Children around the world eat food provided by my friends' giving.
My friends volunteer to counsel prison inmates, not only sacrificing of their time, but putting their own safety at risk. Think what you want about prison evangelism, the facts show that despite the number of fake, jailhouse religious "con-versions", those who participate in Christian prison activities have a much lower rate of recidivism.
My friends spend their lives in service to others. Whether it be military, police, fire, or medical, my friends are the majority of those who volunteer to dedicate their lives to the protection of others. That's why the military votes conservative, they were conservative when they volunteered.
My friends spend Saturday and Sunday caring for kids who ride a bus to church. I've seen the parents of those kids admit to sending them on the bus, just to get a few peaceful hours without their little burdens running around the house. I've heard countless testimony of those kids going on to live productive lives, entirely different from their impoverished peers. Some of those testimonies have played out before my own eyes.
I could go on, but doing so would involve personal stories that aren't mine to tell.
Gun owners love children. Gun owners hate to see anyone murdered. Gun owners want to see everyone protected from evil.
It is the "we" who pushes for safer schools. A sign will never protect a school. A sign just gives a liberal the ability to say he/she "tried." But that "try" is not acceptable. We want our kids protected as much as our money, politicians, and celebrities. None of those are protected merely by a law. They have adequate armed protection. We regret the realization that society has fallen so much, but we recognize that extreme measures must be taken to protect our children. The technology exists, and there is no excuse to just be satisfied with the status quo.
We are your everyday, emotional, compassionate, concerned citizens. We differ from the rest in that we know that restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens has and will never prevent a tragedy. Those bent on destruction will always find an avenue to evil.
Yes, We can be offended. But it will not distract us from the defense of our rights.
We are perfectly capable of loving our rights and the rights and protection of others.