Inadequate At Best!

I have recently blogged about the new Bible Fellowship Group (BFG...Sunday School to most of us!) that Anita and I are part of. Our friend Ron Hewitt and I are teaching the class. Yesterday was one of those Sundays that I had the responsibility of teaching. The previous week, Ron had presented a lesson titled, "The Purpose of Christmas." I wanted to tie into that lesson and bring us to the Advent season, so I taught a lesson entitled, "Why Is Christmas Important?"

As I usually do, when preparing to teach, I intensively study the Scriptures and material I intend to teach from. After the class, as usual, I am left wondering if anything I said actually made a difference. You see, one of the things that frightens me to death when I teach is the thought that something I say will lead someone to a false understanding of my Father! One of the things that I suppose every teacher of God's Word must wrestle with is that in order to bring glory to His name, we must make sure we present His true character. In fact the word "glory" comes from a Greek word that means "to give a correct opinion of." In order to give glory to the Father, we must make sure we are truly and accurately presenting Him to a world that is lost and dieing. There is really nothing that I do in my life that is more important than that.

When I stop to think about it, I actually feel that it is a real blessing that I do feel inadequate. It reminds me that the responsibility for handling the Word of God rightly is truly a weighty one. I pray that He would always inspire my awe with His truth!

Thirty-five Years Later...

I am an Aggie! If you cut me, I will bleed maroon and white. In August of 1973, I left for College Station with my good friends, Steve Burch and Roger Freeman. Steve and I went on to become "old ladies" in the Fightin' Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets...but that's a story for another day. In November of 1974, I formed up with the rest of my outfit, Squadron 12 (Trojan 12!) and marched for what was my last time, into and around Kyle Field. I did not realize it would be my last march-in, but the following fall, finances forced me to transfer to UTA, where I received a B.S. degree in Limnology. I suppose, had I known that it would be my last march-in, I would have drunk in the sights and the sounds and tried to freeze them in my memory. I would have captured the sounds of the Corps and the steady, rhythmic beat of left heels hitting the pavement in time with the bass drums of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band! I would have frozen the smell and the sounds of the horses and riders from Parson's Mounted Cavalry. But most of all, I would have locked away the amazing feeling that I got as we entered Kyle Field. I can almost hear the command, "Eyes...Right!" and see the snap of the guidon as it is raised and then snapped forward. If I had only known!

However, as Paul Harvey would say, "Now for the rest of the story!" Anita had a dentist appointment with Steve Burch...yes he and his wife Troie moved to Allen the same year we did and he has been our dentist for the past 29 years. Steve asked if we would like to drive down to College Station for the game on Saturday. She said she would talk with me and we would call them back. Steve then said, "If Clint would like to march-in with the Former Corps of Cadets Association, he and I can do that." When Anita asked if I would like to do that, it took at least a second to answer, "Yes!" As I have thought about it this week, I am so thankful that once again, I will get to experience the thrill of marching into Kyle Field with the rest of the Corps. As the poem, The Last Corp Trip, says, "Form up boys, we'll march in behind the band!"

For the uninitiated let me tell you several things about Texas A&M -

• It is the oldest public university in the State;
• Texas A&M has provided more military officers who have served this country, than all three service academies combined;
• Texas A&M has produced more Medal of Honor winners than any other college in the U.S.;
• Texas A&M manages the largest engineering and agricultural extension and education program of any in the world;
• In terms of practical, hands-on applied science and engineering, Texas A&M stands alone.

I am sure this means little to most people. In fact, I like to say that for those who do not understand what it means to be an Aggie, nothing I have said will make you understand; however, for those of you who do understand, I need say nothing! There really is only one word...WHOOP! Gig 'em Aggies!

Another Sign of The End Times

Recently, the Toy Hall of Fame added it's newest member/toy to the ranks of the best toys ever! (See the link http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/game-boy-makes-the-toy-hall-of-fame/1371311) The background noise you hear is the sound of Western civilization crumbling! In what universe does a stupid little electronic weasel of a toy beat out some of the greatest toys ever created like Hot Wheels cars, Transformers, playing cards and sidewalk chalk??!! I am sorry, but there has never been any electronic video game that can compare with toys that actually stimulate a child's imagination. One of my major pet peeves are video games! I believe they come straight from the liberals or from communists bent on the ultimate destruction of the United States! I perhaps am overstating the case, but you get my point...right?!

Seriously folks, who would ever put a Game Boy in the same class as "the ball" or a Big Wheel? How many times have I watched a little boy or girl at a sporting event or the zoo or...you name it, playing with a Game Boy instead of enjoying and participating in the activities surrounding them? Do we really think that a glorified electronic babysitter deserves a berth in the Toy Hall of Fame? I think not! Give me a ball and bat or some sidewalk "chaunk" (according to Mark Garrett it is chaunk, not chalk) any day! The best part of real toys like the ball and sidewalk chalk is that you might actually be forced to play with your child or grandchild. Call me old school, but as they say: "That's what I'm talkin' about!"

How Much Do I Miss?

Lord,
You are awesome and holy and you fill the universe with Your majesty! I fall at your feet in reverence. How often do I miss what You have for me? How often do my plans and my agenda take precedence over what You would have me do or say or be? Once again today, you have shown me that first and foremost, You do not need me to bring about your will and that so often, I just get in Your way. But, Lord, thank you for being so gracious to me and allowing me to just touch the very hem of Your garment.

Today, Lord, in the middle of my busy-ness, you brought a man named Gaylon into my life. Gaylon called and wanted to look at a chair that we had listed on Craig's List. I gave him directions and in about thirty minutes, he showed up at our door. Gaylon was a soft-spoken man who had recently moved to the area from Oklahoma. He was retired and was obviously lonely. He had been a widower for the past 15 years. He mentioned that he had not really met anyone to talk to (apparently he has tried a lot of angles here, including the construction foreman at the apartments being built in his neighborhood!) He liked the chair and immediately said he would take it. However, as he continued to talk about everything and nothing, Lord, you impressed on me that he was lonely and that nothing I had planned or on my really important agenda was more important to You than this 74-year old man! I am so grateful that You saw him through Your eyes, Lord, instead of through mine! As we continued to talk, Lord, You revealed to me exactly what You were about! Not only was he lonely, but he needed a Savior and You were about to let me see You work! As we talked, Gaylon said he had lead a good life, but he wasn't sure it was good enough to get into heaven. By this time, the conversation had moved to the front yard, so I asked him back into the house and we walked through Romans and we reached the point where Gaylon, said, "So it's not really about how good I am, it's about how good Jesus was?" Lord, I couldn't have said it any better! After we prayed, Gaylon asked if I could write these verse down for him, so he could look at them as he put it, "all the time." We talked more about what next steps he should take. As he left, he said, "I came here to buy a chair and I am leaving with something worth a lot more than any chair!" Again, Lord, I couldn't have said it better.

Thank You that You do not let me get in the way of Your plans! And thank You that even in my foolishness and my human weakness, You let me be part of those plans. Lord, teach me to see what I miss and to be open to You!

Believe It or Not!

I am not a theologian, nor do I play one on television. However, I do believe I have stumbled upon an amazing theological truth...people either believe the Bible or they don't! Profound, isn't it? I am often amazed when people tell me that they do not believe the Bible, until I begin to ask questions. What I generally find is probably typical of most non-believers:

• The Bible has many mistakes and I just can't believe its true! - Of course, when asked to point out a single one of those mistakes, I have yet to meet anyone who can do so.
• Much of the Bible is really poetical or allegorical and was never intended to be taken as truth. - Again, I have yet to be shown any real evidence that would support this conclusion.
• Most of the Bible is true, but parts are not! - This is an interesting argument, because it allows you to pick and choose what you accept or reject. This way you can accept a loving God, but reject a Holy and righteous One.
• The Bible has been through so many translators, it just can't be true! - I guess the fact that there is more manuscript evidence for the accuracy of the Bible than any of the plays of William Shakespeare does not matter!
• The Bible is just one way to reach truth! - This argument is a difficult one to accept, because the Bible itself argues against this. So either the Bible is, as it claims, true and it is the only way or it is not!

I have finally reached the conclusion that for those who do not believe the Bible, it really comes down to a choice. It is the same choice that satan made in Isaiah 14 and the same choice that Adam and Eve made in Genesis 3. It is the choice to set ourselves up as God! In the end, there is really only one choice: do I believe God and will I obey Him or will I shake my fist at Him and tell Him that I reject His truth and I will be my own god!