Week Forty-Three, 2017
Neighbors to the Rescue
And who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29)
Recently Hurricane Irma visited our entire state. It was one of the biggest hurricanes on record and did extensive damage. Our neighborhood, unlike many others, had little structural damage. Many trees were uprooted and so many power lines were down that nearly ten million people were without electricity. Our power was out for the better part of three days. Many others were without for much longer, many for as long as a week in the hot summer.
What impressed me was the way that people came together irrespective of race, politics, religion or economics. The worst storm brought out the best of our citizens.
I met a nearby neighbor, who I had never met before. I charged my phone from my car and was able to keep in touch with others. Social media was a big help. People were offering food, water and lodging. A friend’s son brought us a generator. Where rivers overflowed, people in boats were evacuating people they didn’t know. People helped total strangers in the evacuation shelters. Electric utility trucks came from as far away as Canada and New Hampshire. Everyone pitched in to do whatever they could for whomever they could.
Isn’t that the way it used to be and the way it should be? We serve God by serving others. When it comes to service, what does the Lord ask of all of us? Aren’t we all part of His Great Commission? And how can we set a good example of service for our own children? I picked up my Bible and turned to Matthew 25: 35-40.
‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Service to others in Jesus’ name doesn’t have to mean going away to a third world country. We can all do something that makes a difference in the lives of others locally. It just takes that personal decision that may mean a little sacrifice on our part to get things started. Whether it’s a commitment of time or money–or both, we are called on to make a difference in this world.
How do you serve others in the Lord’s name? How do you serve as a family?
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Sometimes True Stories
For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.
At a recent computer expo, a major computer manufacturer reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, “If car manufactures had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.”
In response to those comments, the automobile manufacturer issued a press release stating:
If we had developed technology like computer companies, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash……… twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive – but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single “This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation” warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask, “Are you sure?” before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You’d have to press the “Start” button to turn the engine off.
PS – I’d like to add that when all else fails, you could call “customer service” in some foreign country and be instructed in some foreign language how to fix your car yourself!
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Quotes You Can Use
We may suffer consequences as the result of our sin, but it is not our punishment. The punishment for our sin is death, and that was dealt with at Calvary. Angela Zagone
You never have to be afraid to come home because home is where shame is dealt with. Ken Whitten
A thorough understanding of the Bible is better than a college education. Theodore Roosevelt
When we are crazy busy we put our souls at risk. – Kevin DeYoung
The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. Edward R. Murrow
Some men see things as they are and ask, “Why?” I see them as they have never been and ask, “Why not?” George Bernard Shaw
Only the most foolish of mice would hide in a cat’s ear. But only the wisest of cats would think to look there. Scott Love
When you produce intimacy over activity, you fully recognize He is truth, you freely sit at his feet to honor and obey it. Ken Whitten.
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©2017 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618