Flies in the Ointment

I didn't want you all to miss Worship Wednesday, so I posted it here. Enjoy.

Dead flies in perfume make it stink, And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 10:1 The Message

King Solomon has been called the wisest man that ever lived. Even before he asked the Lord for wisdom, he was a man with some sense. A foolish man would have asked for gold, silver, land, and many women to satisfy his carnal appetites. The unwise would have no restraint in his use of these acquisitions. His contentment would be short lived.

Solomon wound up with wisdom and all the trimmings. He was also known as the wealthiest man of his time. There was no shortage of women in his life either. Scripture records that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Just how could one man handle 1000 women in his household????? Men today would like to know. lol.

He may have married some for love, but many were little more than political pawns to advance his objectives. Others he acquired as booty (no pun intended) from his conquests.
Still others were gifts from neighboring kings and magistrates. These women became the beginning of the end for him. In the following verses we see that God gave Solomon some strict commands concerning women. Verse 4 is the sad outcome of his poor choices.

2Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
3And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
4For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. I Kings 11:2 - 4 KJV

You see my friends, even the gifts of God can be marred by their misuse or neglect. Solomon had every advantage as long as he was using the wisdom God gave him. As long as he was obedient to the Lord, he acted responsibly. No doubt he began to worship idol gods to appease the foreign wives. He probably funded many pagan feasts and activities. Perhaps he helped many with solid advice. Certainly he left a cache of help for future generations.

Look at the books of Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. They are insightful, educational, powerful, and proven. But they are of little value to us if we do not take heed to them. If we are disobedient we will miss out on all the God has for us. Even our offspring can suffer from our lack of commitment.

11Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
12Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. I Kings 11:11, 12 KJV

"There’s no use offering me sweet frankincense from Sheba. Keep your fragrant calamus imported from distant lands! I will not accept your burnt offerings. Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for me." Jeremiah 6:20 NLT

Don't let anything ruin your fragrance!

Lazy Way Wednesday

Come see me here today. I just can't seem to finish anything these days. I have four posts in progress. Each needing that little something to make them complete. It is not just in the blogosphere that I am slacking. I have several home improvement projects that are awaiting my attention. Maybe I have adult ADHD. :>)

******News Flash**** It is 2pm and my sister there has not posted it yet.*****
Guess you'll have to shame her into giving me posting access to her place. Then it would actually be my fault if Worship Wednesday was not posted on time. :-)

Priorities: it is all about priorities. That's a post for another day.

Right now, I need to be getting my bills ready to mail. They are in a stack right beside the printer. But..... I needed to write and send a post to my sister before morning. That's how I wound up on the computer in the first place..... but.....and....but....and... Excuses abound.

Seriously, I should be posting some better material soon.

P.S. Have any of you ever gotten a bug or virus from blogger comments? Just wondering.

Dodge Ball Anyone?

Chet tagged me with the Jesus meme on the same day that I tagged 5 more folks. Time out! (smile) In the childhood game of tag, you only tagged one person at a time. A girl can't even get a regular post out, for everyone in the neighborhood wanting to play. (smile) The blogosphere park has no bounds, there are innumerable rides, and the merry-go-round never ends.

Even as a child, I would get weary of playing tag. I was a bit on the heavy side and running was not my thing. When I got tired, I would just leave the gang and hide out until I cooled off. Hide and seek was my game. Perhaps that's why I enjoy lurking around here so much. Well, I used to lurk. Now I just jump right into most any kind of conversation. If I don't like what's being said, I just surf on over to someplace else.

Surfing: Now that's a sport I never even considered. Then again, how many waves can one catch in the heart of Dixie?

Actually, I like the attention that getting tagged brings. It is the responsibility of perpetuating the game that overloads me at times. I'm a slow typist and still a novice with computer applications. Yeah, yeah the last post looked pretty good, but it took me about 4 hours. Now how many folks with full time jobs and families have that kind of time to spend on one post? Looks like I did; but that isn't the norm.

So how about some help around here. Larissa over at Living in Liberty asked a question in the comments of my last post. She wants to know more about this tagging stuff and how to do it. Does anyone have a post about "how to play tag"? If so, could you post the link in my comments for her. Or better yet, go see her and leave it in her comment box. Thanks.


P.S. We usually play horseshoes on the Fourth of July. That is if we can get the horses to part with them for a few hours. See y'all after the holiday.

Tagged again, "Blog Rocker" ??

I remember as a child watching tag team wrestling with my PaPaw. When one wrestler got tired, he just went to his corner and tagged his partner to fight awhile. I have been to a few camp meetings where the evangelists did some tag team preaching. But this is a first for me, seems I got tagged twice in the same week. Being the practical sort, I just answered them both in the same post. The only problem, I'm still pretty slow with linking and such. So the folks I'm tagging get a twice is nice kind of tag. They are all Rocking bloggers that love Jesus.
There's Peg, Rosemary, Janet, Supermom, andJanna.



compliments of Melanie@ This Ain't New York

The 5 Things I love about Jesus meme- tagged by slw @ Thundersounds
Instead of writing 5 paragraphs, I thought I would practice some more 'puter skills.











You get the picture.

Oxen Wanted II

I just can't get away from: "No cattle, no crops; a good harvest requires a strong ox for the plow." Proverbs 14:4 The Message

"Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers in to his harvest field." Matthew 9:37,38 NIV

Why was it necessary for the disciples to ask the Lord to send out laborers? Had he not already called the Peter, Andrew, James, and John in Matthew 4:18-22 and Matthew in chapter 9? The Gospel of Mark records their appointment and their calling to preach, heal the sick, and cast out demons.
Same story with the 70 he sent forth in Luke chapter 10.

When I read, "pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest" I feel conviction. I hear the Holy Spirit say to me, "I have already given you the mandate to go, I'm just waiting for you yield and to ask me for instructions." That may not be proper exegesis or exposition of the text, but it is what I know to be true for me.

Again the instructions are clear in Matthew 10:7,8.

Have you raised anyone from the dead lately? Me neither. But we can't let that hinder us from trying. There is still so much to do and His return is near. We have to go into the fields and get our hands dirty. It will take sweat and tears, but His barns will be filled. We don't need to pick and choose what we will and will not pick. Not every ear of corn is perfect. Some of it is immature, some may be infested with parasites or disease. None the less, it is there in the field waiting to be harvested.

I believe it was the late President Reagan that said, " If not now, then when? If not us, then who?" Even if I didn't get the quote just right, you get the idea. The time is now and the who is every blood bought believer.

Harmless ???

Pretty good! The Bible couldn't even get that rating. With all the violence, blood and guts, beatings, imprisonments, murder, rape, and war, it would have to be at least an "R". Notice I didn't mention the language found in the Bible. No need, it doesn't seem to count with the movie ratings anyway. Besides, folks don't care about the ratings if the ads look inviting.

I picked up this button from my sister @ Beneath the Ivy Wreath. She had picked it up from fellow blogger who had most likely done the same. Internet information is like the common cold; it can be spread with little effort, causes varied reactions, and can not be completely erased.

The button is nice commendation for my blog. It also can be a tool for checking out the blogs or websites of others. However, when you follow it to it's source you will find it is really a clever way to get you to an online dating site. You may be saying, "what difference does that make?".

None, I guess. I liked the button, so I used it. Then again, I changed the code a bit, because I didn't like it showing "online dating" below the button. Again, what's the diff? When I click on it, I go to mingle2.com and the header tells me it is an online dating site. I just don't know, something about it seems deceptive.

If it is truly a device of the enemy, then I shouldn't perpetuate it. If it is merely a tool that can be used in both positive and negative ways then it is up to me to use it wisely. (Somebody help me with this.) I suppose it is no different than the Internet itself. The super information highway is an infinite supply of tools. In and of themselves neutral until wielded by man. Then they can be instruments of destruction or building blocks of goodness.

Reminds me how something so wonderful as the Bible can be twisted to support something so evil as a cult. Today more than ever we must be diligent in prayer and watchfulness. We must know what the scriptures say and what they mean. The Word of God can be used as a litmus test for every situation, so we must know how to apply it as well.

No doubt I could have used these few minutes and this space in a better way. Guess I just needed to 'talk it out'. To be sure this post is not a total loss, I offer the following verses.

13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. II Corinthians 11:13-15

1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. I John 4:1

Just another note about buttons. Please avail yourselves of the ones in my sidebar.( I believe I have them posted correctly.) Pneumabloggers takes you to Rich Tatum's sites, the Comfort Cafe offers a variety of authors, and the Blogging for Jesus button takes you to PilgrimScribblings.

Anything for an Ox

Doubtless you have heard the expression, "I had an ox in the ditch" or some variation of it. It is just another saying that man has taken from the Bible and shaped to suit his own purposes. In most instances today, it is merely an excuse. "An excuse is a skin of truth stretched over a lie." That's what an aged Sunday School teacher told me, and I believe she was right.

Many times this expression is used in regards to missing church or being late getting there. Oh they will elaborate and say something about having to run an errand before church and......and..... It is in all the explanation that you find the truth of the matter. Something else took priority over attending the house of God. Does it really take both parents and all the siblings to care for one puny child? Couldn't they have filled up the car before the service?

And Jesus answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? Luke 14:5

In the original context, getting the ox out of a pit was considered work and thus broke the Law of the Sabbath. Yet having mercy on the animal outweighed the penalty of the Law. Jesus had just healed a man of dropsy. It was the Sabbath. The Pharisees looked on him with disdain. Jesus used this example to expose the weakness of the Law, highlight the supremacy of mercy, and shut the mouths of the religious critics.

Showing mercy to an ox is an attribute we all should have. If we see a fellow ox in the ditch then we should act immediately. Don't wait for the elders to pray for them on Sunday. Don't wait until their struggles have zapped all their strength. Don't wait until they are covered in mud or the water is over their heads. Jesus would not wait, so why should we?

By the way, be sure to check out the reader's comments on the previous post. Good stuff.