My laptop computer has been causing me all kinds of problems. The cursor went out and then all the letters on the keyboard became nonfunctional. Needless to say, that made it pretty hard to use! The good news is that I got an inexpensive wired mouse and then a keyboard I could plug into it. And it works!! It isn’t as convenient as just the laptop but it all works! The only problem is that I have to put the new keyboard on top of the old one. The other night I had finished an outline that goes into our weekly bulletin for people to follow as I bring the message on Sunday mornings. I got everything working on the laptop and created what needed to be sent and I got up from my desk for a minute to stretch and I looked down at my computer screen and there was the cursor running from one side of the page I had just done, erasing it all, line by line! I was so stunned that I just stared for a moment and then the only thing I could think of was to grab the new keyboard and try to stop it from destroying my whole document. As soon as I lifted the new keyboard…it stopped! I gave a few words of prayerful thanks and looked at where the keyboard had been sitting and realized that one of the rubber “feet” had been sitting on the backspace button. The keyboard must have come alive for just a moment long enough to start erasing my paper, line by line! I got it all done, but I thought about how I ended up losing some important stuff and not having a clue why. And I couldn’t help but think about our country and our culture and how so much of what has been precious and still is…is being erased. And a lot of it is just behavioral morality. We are not as good a people as we have been in the past. What could cause the erasing of history, manners, common sense and compassion? I thought about what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Church…that since people thought it was foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. There is a reason why people, families and even countries lose so much of the valuable things that make our lives easier and richer. We say “no” to God long enough and then he abandons us to our foolish thinking and allows us to do things that should never be done. But the good news is that we can stop the erosion and erasure of all the good that we can and should hold on to. It will always involve acknowledging God. When we do that first, then God works in us and through us to become a different kind of people. We can actually recoup the losses that our abandonment of God has brought us. So, if you want real change, remember that it starts with one heart at a time and it is one heart acknowledging God and agreeing with him and being willing to just live well according to his direction. We do that and we will see real change in us and in our families and in our country. Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Romans 1:28-31 NLT Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. (29) Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. (30) They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. (31) They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
Remember I’m praying for you!
With love, PJ
Romans 1:28-31 NLT Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. (29) Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. (30) They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. (31) They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
Remember I’m praying for you!
With love, PJ