I was in and around the Bastrop and Smithville areas during the week after the fires broke out there on Labor Day weekend.
Though I never saw any billows of smoke or fire...or any signs of burnt grass, I did see many folks that had suffered from the fire's devastation.
I need to say right up front! I have not gone through the trauma of losing any of my possessions to any natural disaster. So, I can only empathize with those who have been effected by the fires.
One of the shelters (a church) in Bastrop had asked for the two shower trailers which our two associations operate. So, I went there one day to check things out.
First Baptist Smithville (in the Gonzales Association) was serving as a shelter and feeding point for folks in the eastern part of the fire's path. I went there to see if they needed anything.
In my limited time at both places, I observed a sharp contrast in two responses to what was happening:
At the shelter in Bastrop, I overheard a fire victim sharing with one of the shelter volunteers about her sad plight. She was weeping over all she had lost. The church volunteer was trying--compassionately--to console her.
Later, at First, Smithville, I ran into a lady in their fellowship hall -where they were operating their shelter and feeding ministry. I had known her as a member of one of our association churches several years ago, but she had moved, and I had lost track of her.
She was busy sorting and bagging up items to be given out to victims. Assuming she was just volunteering her time, I asked her where she was living now. She informed me---as she continued sorting and bagging---that they lived near Bastrop, and had lost their home in the fires.
I was just thinkin'.......about how different those two responses were!
I'm guessing the lady in Bastrop had no insurance. And, the lady in Smithville probably did. But, they both lost everything!
I thought of the words of Jesus in John 16:33: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world."
May we not forget that there are people all around us---whether they've suffered physical losses or not---that need the PEACE that only Christ can give.
Proverbs 16:3 (KJV)
I was reading a book recently by Warren Wiersbe (*), and a statement in the first paragraph of the second chapter jumped out at me: "The trouble", he wrote, "with too many of us is that we think God called us to be manufacturers, when He really called us to be distributors".
Wiersbe's scriptural foundation for this statement was the incident where Jesus was compelled to feed the 5000. The disciples were overwhelmed with the size of the crowd....and the lack of food. They didn't know what to do.
They suggested to Jesus to send the crowd home......they tried to think of ways to come up with the funds to hire a good caterer from the area.
Wiersbe suggests that the disciples were trying to become "manufacturers". They thought it was their responsibility to come up with the solution.
He adds, "He (Jesus) took the lad's lunch, looked up into heaven, blessed the food, broke it, and put it into the disciples' hands......for them to feed the hungry multitude."
I was just thinkin'.........about the distributor under the hood of my car. I'm somewhat mechanically challenged, but I do know that the distributor on your car is what delivers currents of electricity to each spark plug.....which cause explosions in each cylinder.....which cause each piston to move.....which causes your car to travel down the road.
The car's battery is the power source that provides the power to turn the engine, but it's the distributor that properly delivers the power to each piston.
God is the Great Power Supplier of everything that people need. And we have been given the privilege (and obligation) of being the Distributors of God's riches and blessings to those around us.
Wiersbe ends the chapter by saying, "Once you accept yourself as a distributor of God's riches.....and not a manufacturer, you will experience a wonderful new freedom and joy in service."
Sometimes, too much of our "religious" work is us doing something, rather than allowing God to do something through us! Too often we depend on our own resources rather than His.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, ".....I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Cor. 15:10b)
Proverbs 16:3
(*) On Being a Servant of God, Warren Wiersbe, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 1993
I have never had any interest in going on a Caribbean cruise, but have thought seriously about the Alaskan waterways as being an exciting seafaring adventure.
And to make the trip even better, I'd take along Chuck Swindoll, or David Jeremiah, or Tony Evans.....to just share a bit of their biblical wisdom along the way!
I've heard that these huge cruise ships are pretty fancy and take care of all the needs of travelers. It's like "full-service" sailing! Everything is first-class, from the accomodations to the food.
But, I started thinking about what it would be like to take a cruise on an old grungy fishing boat. Not many luxuries....not a whole lot of amenities. Just the bare bones of nautical travel.
But, the purpose of a fishing boat is to catch fish.....not entertain people.
I was just thinkin'.........about our churches. It seems like "church" today---in some circles---has become a business of entertaining and accomodating people.
Whereas.....I seem to remember Jesus saying, "follow me and I will make you fishers of men."
THAT....would make our 'vessel of operations' more like a dirty old fishing boat, rather than a swanky cruise ship.
I'm not suggesting we not keep our churches clean and tidy, but are we spending more time and money on buildings that we meet in only a couple of times a week......than we are on the purpose of our missions????
Maybe we would reach more lost people if we were out there getting tired and 'smelly' in a fishing boat.....rather than sitting back and enjoying the luxuries of a "Christian cruise"!
Proverbs 16:3
