“God our Savior…wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4

It was my youngest daughter’s 4^th wedding anniversary and her husband wanted to to take her out to dinner. What THEY wanted was a babysitter for their 2 kids. Katie and I wanted to give them worry free time, so we volunteered to watch Coast, who is 2… and Case, who is 4 months old. Coast wanted Reese’s Pieces! Case wanted mommy!!

Before leaving for their evening out, we were given instructions and tips. My daughter instructed us that Coast was to eat an avocado for dinner. At hearing this, and obviously remembering the LAST time we watched them, Coast looked directly at me and said, “Reesy Peesys!” As they walked out the door I was left wondering who was actually in charge!!

Since no “Reesy Peesys!” were to be found, I promised I would run to the store to get some if he ate what mommy wanted him to eat. No problem!!!! And as the cut up pile of avocado chunks began to disappear, he would occasionally look at and say, “store!” But I knew the drill and had my orders. Daughter’s wants first! When the last avocado bite was gone, Coast smiled… and I hit the road!

The first 2 chapters of 1 Timothy are tough and easily confused. Paul writes to Timothy to ‘fight the good fight (1:18), to pray for our government’s leaders to live in peace and quiet ( 2:2) and THEN tells us what GOD wants! In those short verses, and just like my babysitting experience, it is easy to see that not everyone actually GETS what they want. Not even GOD!

These day’s are difficult. The world is in battle mode and this great country is more divided then ever before. News is not good as daily, evil sets up to wage a full scale war against Christ and His Church. And what is our Master’s parting command and ‘want’ for the coming battle? ‘Fight good, pray hard and tell the enemy of THEIR enemy’s desire for their COMPLETE Salvation!’ OBVIOUSLY someone isn’t going to get what THEY want! I FEEL like a middleman… because I am!

Everything worked out well with the evening. There was food and fun, laughter and tears, and “Reesy Peesys!” Even baby Case ultimately got what he wanted! When mommy walked back in the door, Katie handed him over and we left! SUCCESS! I was reminded that NO one gets everything they want… even Jesus Christ. But He’s coming back in His own sweet time (6:14). Then, and ONLY them, will we ALL get what we really want!

“Where your where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

A while back I had written about my discovery of water coming from the air conditioner in my house. Just for fun we stated collecting it to see just how much it produced. Which is good… because for the last 3 weeks it has been MISERABLY hot, humid and DRY! Using the collected 10 gallons a day, we water our plants and flowers. Along with some other water saving measures, I calculated we saved almost $30 on the water bill too! Not a lot.. but enough for a couple trips to out eat!

Yesterday I went to dump the bucket into the barrel. It’s not a big deal, since it only takes about 20 seconds to do so. Only 5 feet from my goal the old plastic bucket handle broke in my hand and 5 gallons of water dumped all over the ground! I was surprised at my reaction… which was actually shock and sorrow! I had to pause to think about WHY I felt that way! Then this verse hit me.

Living in this great country, water is typically not an issue. When we want it, we turn the faucet handle and ‘voila!’ So losing 5 gallons of water on the ground is NOT significant. The old bucket wasn’t an issue either. I actually had ANOTHER old bucket with a METAL handle that will NOT break. Switching was quick and easy! But I was STILL shocked at my sorrow over the loss of the water! Mostly because it was a silly reaction for me.

Up until now, I had never CARED about what I didn’t KNOW about. My discovery had made sense in many ways and I had created a system. But I hadn’t calculated on bucket failure. The loss of that water actually brought out just how much I had come to care! And silly as water is, this principle of the heart is not silly at all!

I have TOO often discovered how much I care about things AFTER I have lost them. Loved ones who have passed, relationships that are no longer, dreams that are no longer possible, goals that can no longer be reached. ALL of these things carry a hidden treasure that becomes much more evident AFTER the handle of life breaks and they are spilled onto the ground. Which shocks me again as I am drawn to think about it.

If I had only KNOWN how much I had cared or valued. If I had REALIZED how important that thing or person had become, maybe I would have appreciated or cared for them more carefully. It seems to me that THAT is the point Jesus is making in this verse.

NOTHING on this Earth is more precious than Emmanuel… ‘God with us.’ No money, job, position or relationship can even come close to the treasure of Him in my heart, soul and spirit. His presence in me enhances everything else I posses. The spilled bucket helps me to see that taking Him for granted is a loss I cannot afford to chance. It is a truth I can handle!

For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14

I was getting quite frustrated and about to lose my Christianity… and all over a stupid sprayer! Wait… my wife tells me not to say the ‘stupid’ word’ as it is insulting to humans and inapplicable to things! But THIS THING seemed to have human traits! I couldn’t FIND it at first… like it was hiding on purpose!. Then when I FOUND it, it didn’t WORK! Which made my original task 2 additional steps away from accomplishment. This made me even MORE angry… which made me feel stupid!!!

Florida summer heat and humidity bring life to some unwanted things. Mold, mildew, bugs, and weeds are just a few. It isn’t wise to use the same sprayer to kill weeds, on plants to irradiate pests. So I have a couple sprayers to help me keep from killing what I want to live! After finding it, I filled the sprayer with an appropriate mixture, tried to pump it up but… NOTHIN’! It would not hold pressure. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Over time, the seals in sprayers can dry out or crack. This prohibits the sprayer from holding air pressure. A trick I learned years ago was to apply some oil to the offending seal, potentially stopping the leak. It worked!!! So after finding and fixing, I was free to finish the job I had started. Unfortunately, I carried along with me a big black mark on my soul and spirit! The pressure was building!

I have had too many let-downs like this lately. Stringing a bunch of them together, after a while, makes me feel ‘stupid.’ And ‘stupid’ is a satan word. The feeling it brings starts to take affect and eventually drys out my zeal for Jesus. When I feel unworthy because of too many failures, I begin to feel like I don’t deserve to reach out to my Savior. “WHY would He even WANT to come close to me… AGAIN!”

A symbol for the Holy Spirit is ‘Oil.’ Today He reminded me that MY failures are NOT the biggest stumbling block to my faith. It is walking away from God believing He is UNABLE or UNWILLING to restore my life. This belief is poison to my soul! An attempt to kill my relationship with the love of my heart.

Praying and receiving the Oil of His Spirit restores and enables me to take the pressures of life, becoming an effective tool in the Master’s hand. I am reminded by Him that He NEVER considers saints to be stupid! He doesn’t like that ‘S’ word either!