.......about lotza oil!

          Black Gold!     Texas Tea!
          Right now I'm sitting above a pocket of oil that they say will be producing for the next twenty years.  Gonzales county, and counties south are busting with people, trucks and all kinds of machinery----trying to "suck out" all the oil they can find.
          But, this frenzy for oil has caused me to think about another kind of oil.  I thought about a little chorus that some of us used to sing in Sunday School and summer church camps:  "Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
                 Give me oil in my lamp I pray.
                 Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning.
                 Keep me burning til the break of day."
          I was reading in a commentary the other day about the parable of the 10 wise and foolish virgins (Matt. 25:1-13).   If you know the story, you'll remember that oil (and the lack of it) played a major part in the story that Jesus told.
          Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary on the gospel of Matthew (1) , made this comment on that passage:
          "Oil is usually a symbol of the Spirit of God, but I wonder if this particular oil is not also a symbol of the Word of God.  The church should be 'holding forth the Word of life' in this dark and wicked world."
          Referring to the foolish virgins, who failed to "be prepared", Wiersbe said this:
          "The church has known for two thousand years that Jesus is coming again, and yet, most believers have become lethargic and drowsy.  They are no longer excited about the soon-coming of the Lord."   He concludes: "As a result, there is little effective witness given that the Lord is returning."

          I was just thinkin'.......................are we prepared with the Word of God in our "lamps"....to the point that we are an effective witness in the world?   (and I'm not talking about THE world--as in the planet that orbits the Sun).  I'm talking about OUR world---the place where we live--where we "orbit around" friends, family and acquaintances everyday!
          Obviously, all ten virgins were invited to the wedding.  But, because the "Foolish Five" were ill-equipped....and ill-prepared, they were denied entrance into the wedding reception.
          Are you keeping your lamp full of oil??  (empty lamps don't give out much light!)
          I think God's people need to become as busy as these oil field workers that have recently invaded South Central Texas......and start drilling for OIL!!!

Tommy (Proverbs 16:3)

 (1) BE Loyal: Following the King of Kings, David C. Cook Publishers, Colorado Springs, CO, 1980.