Category Insights on Scripture

Deep thoughts from the well spring of life

Interlocking Pieces

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

image001So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Eph 2:19-22 (ESV)

I used to enjoy jigsaw puzzles as a child. I could not wait to rip open the box and start working on the picture inside. My first puzzle was the five piece wooden kind in a wood frame. They were simple to complete because the pieces where huge. As I got older I would try more difficult puzzles until I graduated to the 5000 piece variety. You had to be a real connoisseur of puzzles to tackle one of these monsters.

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The basics were always the same, start with the straight edges, match the color groups, and then start to work on individual images inside the completed frame. Nothing was more frustrating than a missing piece. The gapping hole where that last piece should be stares back at you every time you look at the puzzle and you know it will never be complete unless that piece is found. You can not send away for missing pieces at a missing piece factory, you just have to discard the puzzle or live with it being incomplete.

It is unfortunate that many lives are left unfinished on life’s table because they refuse to accept the missing piece that would make their life complete. Someone once said we have a God shaped piece missing within us. No matter what we try to force into that space it will not fit properly. It would be just like forcing a piece into the puzzle that just does not belong. Jesus is that missing piece that completes an otherwise unfinished life.

Finding the Right Piece

Life is much like that interlocking puzzle. Each piece has to be put into its proper place to complete the over all picture. The designer of the puzzle had a specific pattern from which he cut out the tiny pieces and then scattered them around. God is the master puzzle maker and He has spread His pieces throughout the world and is working toward bringing them together so the world can see the finished product. The puzzle looks like a mess inside the box and spread out all over the table top but it begins to take on character as each piece is fit into its proper place. You can not force a piece to fit where it does not belong because the piece next to it will not fit either and the whole puzzle will lose its focus and pattern.

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The Waiting Room

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

isa4031kIt was early on a cold, damp morning when I had to make a trip to the hospital waiting room. I had been sick for several hours prior, and had hoped that a trip to the emergency room would not be necessary. I was wrong. The nausea and vomiting would not ease up. The diarrhea and cold sweats indicated medical attention was required. So off I went to the waiting room.

A hospital waiting room can be a hard place to endure when you are not feeling well. Upon entering the waiting room you are asked questions as to your name, address, sickness, allergies, and other personal information before you can even be considered for treatment Unless you are brought in by ambulance in a life threatening situation you must pass through the waiting room to wait, and wait, and wait some more. It can be a very lonely and foreboding place.

Constant waiting, when not feeling well, can be difficult to take. You are within feet of help and yet help seems so far away. You start to look around at others and try to rationalize whose illness or disease is less important than your own. You start to compare others and their situations with your own. The law of self preservation kicks in and you start to think that your needs are more important than others. You feel that your wait should be lessened by your perceived need for immediate attention.

We all can become selfish when faced with discomfort and distress. The desire to be cured of the discomfort pushes itself to the forefront of our thought processes and the waiting room is where all these emotions manifest. When we observe the actions, and reactions of those in the waiting room we can determine what level of acceptance a person has reached. There are those whom you would not think were sick at all from their calm, demeanor and, in contrast, you can readily see those who have not yet found comfort in their distress. They seem anxious and unhinged by the waiting process. Those who have seen the inside of the waiting room more than others offer up an experienced air about themselves. They have this reassurance that help is just moments away and there is nothing to fear or dread.

First timers to the waiting room are not as calm, cool, and collected as the more seasoned veterans. Proving once again that experience is the best teacher. I have to admit that I do not handle pain well at all. I am a baby when it comes to being sick. I do not like being sick! I feel so helpless when I am sick and I appreciate those who deal with us babies when it comes time to treat us. I have a great deal of respect for those in the medical profession. People who help people is a noble profession and one I greatly admire. I do not know if I would have the patience and gentleness to deal with people like myself when it comes time to treat them for being sick.

Trying to maintain a sense of composure when you are not feeling yourself in front of several people who are watching your every move is not easy. You have to check your pride at the door of the emergency room and forget about looking your best when entering the waiting room. You would not be there if you were your best. We come to the waiting room through the same door, the one marked emergency entrance. Some of us are wheeled in, some are carried in, some limp in, some enter reluctantly but all enter through the same door. We all must face the same security personnel and intake nurse who asks us questions for what seems like hours to determine the nature of our emergency.

To a sick person any time of awaiting a cure to their predicament seems too long.

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Truth or Consequences

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17 (NKJV)

truth1From the very beginning of time certain activities were considered off limits. The very first inhabitants of this planet understood that there were things they could and could not do. God had set in motion immutable laws that continue even through today.

From 1940 until 1987 an American quiz show originally hosted on radio by Ralph Edwards became a hit television show. That show was truth or consequences. Hosted from 1956 until 1975 by none other than Bob Barker of Let’s Make a Deal fame.

The idea of the show was to mix the original quiz element of game shows with wacky stunts. On the show, people had to answer a trivia question correctly (usually an off-the-wall question that no one would be able to answer correctly) before “Beulah the Buzzer” was sounded. If the contestant could not complete the “Truth” portion, there would be “Consequences,” usually a zany and embarrassing stunt. In addition, during Barker’s run as host, “Barker’s Box” was played. Barker’s Box was a box with 4 drawers in it. If a contestant was able to pick the 3 boxes with money in it, they won a bonus prize.

In many broadcasts, the stunts on Truth or Consequences included a popular, but emotional, heart-rending surprise for a contestant, that being the reunion with a long-lost relative or with an enlisted son or daughter returning from military duty overseas, particularly Vietnam.

Citation: Truth or Consequences. (2007, September 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:17, September 12, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Truth_or_Consequences&oldid=156188604

Although it made for entertaining TV the idea that wrong choices yielded sometimes unpleasant surprises was not a new concept. Most people if honest will admit to times in their life where a wrong turn, a wrong choice, a wrong answer landed them in less than favorable conditions.

The embarrassment of being seen on TV not knowing the right answer to some obscure game show question is not as important as not knowing the right answer to a midterm test question.

Although both wrong answers had consequences one could be considered more life changing then the other. Getting blasted with whipped cream on the game show although embarrassing was not life altering. Missing questions on a midterm exam could mean the difference to passing or failing.

Making the wrong turn while driving could get one hopelessly lost. Thank God for GPS units which are ever ready to help a hapless driver find his or her way back to civilization. Heading the wrong way on a one way street could cost you a handsome fine or loss of license.

Choosing to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs could end a life, yours or someone else.

In a culture which hates consequences there is an ongoing attempt to remove all truth, all absolutes in order to eliminate consequences of wrong choices. IF there are no wrong choices then logically one could assume there are no consequences. Morally if there is no RIGHT or wrong then no matter how I choose to live my life there is no consequence.

Man’s best efforts to root out all laws and opposition to wrong choices only end in futility each and every time they are tried. There are certain laws in place that just can not be avoided. Take for instance the law of gravity.

Even if one wishes to ignore the laws existence it does not take a person long to know that jumping from a high elevation without the aide of wings or some other flying apparatus plummets them to the earth where they will meet another law, that of an irresistible force and an immovable object.

History is riddled with humankind who have chosen the wrong direction and learned the consequences of such action.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, legendary early American writer, penned these prophetic words in “The Golden Legend”:

“No action, whether foul or fair, longfellowtheman
Is ever done, but it leaves somewhere,
A record, written by fingers ghostly,
As a blessing or a curse.”

All of us leave footprints in this world a record of where we been and the direction in which we are headed. The question that needs to be asked if someone was following in your footsteps would they find blessings or curses along the way? Would the path you are leading lead others to a greater good? Does the road you are following lead to greatness or disaster?

There is a way that seems right to a person, but eventually it ends in death.
Prov 14:12 (GW)

Each day we are faced with choices and each day we need to choose a path. But choose wisely because a wrong choice will have consequences. In this life the consequences may not seem too unbearable but in the life to come a wrong choice could land you in a destination unfit for human habitation.

A gullible person believes anything, but a sensible person watches his step. A wise person is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is careless and over confident. Prov 14:15-16 (GW)

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Truth or Consequences

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17 (NKJV)

truth1From the very beginning of time certain activities were considered off limits. The very first inhabitants of this planet understood that there were things they could and could not do. God had set in motion immutable laws that continue even through today.

From 1940 until 1987 an American quiz show originally hosted on radio by Ralph Edwards became a hit television show. That show was truth or consequences. Hosted from 1956 until 1975 by none other than Bob Barker of “The Price is Right”l fame.

The idea of the show was to mix the original quiz element of game shows with wacky stunts. On the show, people had to answer a trivia question correctly (usually an off-the-wall question that no one would be able to answer correctly) before “Beulah the Buzzer” was sounded. If the contestant could not complete the “Truth” portion, there would be “Consequences,” usually a zany and embarrassing stunt. In addition, during Barker’s run as host, “Barker’s Box” was played. Barker’s Box was a box with 4 drawers in it. If a contestant was able to pick the 3 boxes with money in it, they won a bonus prize.

In many broadcasts, the stunts on Truth or Consequences included a popular, but emotional, heart-rending surprise for a contestant, that being the reunion with a long-lost relative or with an enlisted son or daughter returning from military duty overseas, particularly Vietnam.

Citation: Truth or Consequences. (2007, September 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:17, September 12, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Truth_or_Consequences&oldid=156188604

Although it made for entertaining TV the idea that wrong choices yielded sometimes unpleasant surprises was not a new concept. Most people if honest will admit to times in their life where a wrong turn, a wrong choice, a wrong answer landed them in less than favorable conditions.

The embarrassment of being seen on TV not knowing the right answer to some obscure game show question is not as important as not knowing the right answer to a midterm test question.

Although both wrong answers had consequences one could be considered more life changing then the other. Getting blasted with whipped cream on the game show although embarrassing was not life altering. Missing questions on a midterm exam could mean the difference to passing or failing.

Making the wrong turn while driving could get one hopelessly lost. Thank God for GPS units which are ever ready to help a hapless driver find his or her way back to civilization. Heading the wrong way on a one way street could cost you a handsome fine or loss of license. Continue reading “Truth or Consequences” →

World’s First GPS System

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Worlds First GPS Tracking System is Nearly Two Thousand Years Old by Rev Michael Bresciani

GPS tracking from (global positioning satellites) is becoming almost standard equipment on cars today. The penchant to “know” may be what is driving the consumer more than the fear of getting lost. Add to that the lack of time in today’s fast paced society, who has got time to sit down and read a map?

In addition to tracking devices Detroit is equipping autos with gauges and devices that can read such things as the air pressure in the tires or the condition of your motor oil. Almost every system in the car is now monitored by computers and the information is fed back to the driver in one form or another including voice messages.

Evangelists and preachers have used the adage that the “Bible is the road map for life” many times in their messages and missives throughout this generation. Out of the genre of strictly American bred music comes a similar message from what is known as Appalachian Mountain Music. The old Bluegrass song is widely known and is aptly entitled “I’m Using My Bible as a Roadmap.”

Some might say the words are too simplistic but hardly anyone wouldn’t say that in today’s fast paced and complicated world, simple and direct is exactly what we need. The straight up message can be seen in the first stanza of the song.

I’m using my bible as a road map
Ten Commandments, they tell me what to do
The twelve disciples are my road signs
And Jesus will see me safely through

How many Americans see the Bible as a roadmap to life? Fortunately for the moment that number is still very high in this country but reports say the numbers are rapidly falling. The pace of modern life in America is blamed in part for the decline but even more so is the proclivity to follow cultural and popular trends. Fitting in and riding the present wave are more desirable to many than any old fashioned notion of trusting God, personal responsibility and building character. Continue reading “World’s First GPS System” →