Inspiration Corner

Have you ever had a cold drink outside on a really warm day?  Have you noticed that the longer your cold drink is exposed to the warmer environment , it becomes more like the temperature around it?  The influence of the warmer temperature is too much for the cold drink to withstand and eventually it becomes the same temperature as the air around it.  Putting an insulating material around your drink will help for a while, but eventually the warmer temperatures will overcome that, leaving you with an unsatisfying, very warm drink.  As Christians we need to be very careful about the environment that we allow ourselves to be in.  In 2 Corinthians 6:14, it states, “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”  If we spend too much time with unbelievers, we will eventually began to look more and more like them in our actions, our words, and our deeds.  This is very unsatisfying to our God, who calls us to be set apart from worldly things.  Don’t allow yourself to be influenced by the worldly things around you.  Be that light in the darkness that God has called you to be.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  After Jesus’ resurrection, he meets with his eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee and commands them to spread the gospel by making disciples of all nations. 

As Christians, He expects the same from you and I today.  At anytime and at anyplace, an opportunity may arise for you to share the love of Jesus Christ with someone who doesn’t know Him. A few years ago, Jennifer was going to a chiropractor in Huntingburg for some lower back trouble.  One day in particular he chose to share his faith with Jennifer by telling her that only 3% of the human population would make it to Heaven.  Although the accuracy of this statement may be questionable, the results are not.  This simple statement led Jennifer to ask more questions and eventually to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior and through Jennifer’s commitment, led me back to obedience in the Lord and more growth in my Christian life than I have ever known. 

As a Baptist, I love to eat, and an all you can eat buffet is like      heaven on earth to me.  For a one time price, I can eat as much food and drink that I want and not be charged any extra.  However, for some reason, no matter how much I eat and stuff myself at a buffet, I am still hungry the next day.  No matter how satisfied I am when I leave the buffet, there is always the need to eat the next day.  Many people are like this in life.  They try to use drugs, alcohol, pornography, money and a host of other things in an effort to find something that will satisfy them and fill up the emptiness inside of them.  Sadly, they are left emptier and even more unsatisfied when depending on the things of this world to fulfill them.

While driving on a recent family vacation, I had the opportunity to read hundreds of billboards.  Every once in a while something would catch my eye on a billboard.  On some of the billboards would be advertisements for some type of restaurant or other establishment and it would say “truckers welcome”.

This really got me to thinking.  Are there places where truckers are not welcome?   Are there places in this country where people are not allowed based on either their profession or how they look?  How about in your church?  Do we only welcome people who look a certain way, talk a certain way, or who are dressed a certain way?  Do we exclude welcoming people into our church based on the fact that they are different than us or that they don’t meet certain self-imposed standards?