“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” ― John Wesley

Good morning, it's Wednesday, June 13, 2018, where I bid you a hearty welcome to today's edition. I suppose many of us can be happy the camel commercials hyping today as hump day have more or less faded. When they first came on the scene the masses were captivated by this approach to advertising. When they became the rage, well, they pretty much overstayed their welcome and we became sick and tired of being sick and tired of seeing them everywhere all the time. Here's something funny. I remember well the commercials, but, I had to look up the product they were promoting. It was Geico. The camel was memorable but the product, not so much. That's how it worked with me. I'm sure that's not what the ad folks intended. Yet, we have before us another day. God has granted this day to us. It's now up to us as to what we will do with it. That reminds me of that day where Joshua stood before the nation of Israel and shared a challenge for the day that lay before them. "Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Book of Joshua, Chapter 24, Verses 14-15) We all have before us each and every day, including today, the challenge of who we will serve, how we will use the time given to us, and whether we will honor our Creator and God in the way we live. Amen.

I felt a whole lot of conviction coming out of that paragraph. Maybe the camel wasn't so bad after all. I will admit that my coming up on three-score-and-twelve does make me aware that my time is slipping away. When I read someone's obituary I find myself doing the math in my head. If I live as long as this person it means I have only this amount of time left. Just me. You don't have to view it this way. Some of the things I've heard all my life come to mind. "Only one life, 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last." I discovered this thought was used to develop a song. The song itself pretty much lays out the challenge of making decisions regarding the things we will devote ourselves and our time to.

You may build great cathedrals large or small,
you can build skyscrapers grand and tall,
you may conquer all the failures of the past,
but only what you do for Christ will last.

Remember only what You do for Christ will last.
Remember only what you do for Christ will last,
only what you do for Him will be counted at the end;
only what you do for Christ will last.

You may seek earthly power and fame,
the world might be impressed by your great name,
soon the glories of this life will all be past,
but only what you do for Christ will last.

Remember only what You do for Christ will last.
Remember only what you do for Christ will last,
only what you do for Him will be counted at the end;
only what you do for Christ will last.

Though your armies may control each hemisphere,
and your orbits out in space cause men to cheer,
your scientific knowledge may be vast,
but only what you do for Christ will last.

Remember only what You do for Christ will last.
Remember only what you do for Christ will last,
only what you do for Him will be counted at the end;
only what you do for Christ will last.

Though your song and prayers are heard and praised by man,
they've no meaning unless you've been born again,
sinner, heed these words, don't let this harvest pass,
for only what you do for Christ will last.

Remember only what You do for Christ will last.
Remember only what you do for Christ will last,
only what you do for Him will be counted at the end;
only what you do for Christ will last. (Written by Neal Morse)

The only thing I haven't done today is to give an invitation and receive an offering. Just joking. Not about the invitation. The invitation belongs to God and He is the One who speaks to the innermost part of our being. He might do that through a Bible verse, a sermon, a testimony, or even through a song that embodies the truth. Since I'm on a conviction roll this morning, let me leave you with this country tune made popular by the likes of Red Sovine and Porter Waggoner:

If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two.
If he came without warning I wonder what you'd do.
Yes if Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two.
If he came unexpected just dropped in on you.
Ahh I know you'd give your nicest room to such an honored guest.
And all the food you'd serve to him would be your the best.
And you would keep reassuring him that you're glad to have him there.
That serving him in your home is joy beyond compare.
But when you saw him coming would you meet him at the door
With arms outstretched in welcome to your heavenly visitor?
Or would you have to change your clothes before you'd let him in
Or hide some magazines and put the bible where they had been?
Would you turn off the radio and hope he hadn't heard
And wish you hadn't uttered that last loud hasty word?
Would you hide your worldly music and put some hymn books out
Could you just let Jesus walk right in or would you rush about?
And I wonder if the Savior spent a day or two with you
Would you go right on doing the things you always do?
Would you go right on saying the things you always say?
Would life for you continue as it does from day to day?
Would your family conversations keep up its normal pace?
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace?
Would you sing the songs you always sing
And read the books you read
And let him know the things on which your mind and spirit feed?
Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you planned to go?
Or maybe would you change your plans for just a day or so?
Would you be glad for him to meet your very closest friends
Or hope that they'd stay away until his visit ends?
Would you be glad to have him stay forever on and on
Or would you sigh with great relief, when he, at last, was gone?
It might be interesting to know the things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person, to spend some time with you.
If Jesus came to your house, I wonder what you'd do? Written by Craig Starrett/Lois Blanchard

That's it for today. Please don't start a campaign to bring the camel back. See you next time and may God help us all to make the most of the time He has granted to us. Amen. .....More later.