Dr. Seuss - “The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day.”

Good morning. I am coming to you this morning live and in person on this Wednesday, February 19, 2025. I quickly add it was live and in person when I sat down at the keyboard at 9:22 a.m., here in the US Central Time Zone. Well, well, I had mentioned earlier that I hoped the weather folks would miss their cold weather projected for the next few days at least by a wee margin. However, I've been out in the weather this morning checking our outside pipes and believe me, with the wind whipping it up between 15-20 mph along with the 33 degree temperature, well, the feels like was in the low 20's. It didn't take me long. My grandfather used to like a little ditty that gave this illustration. A fellow was with a group touring a plant where they made horseshoes. The guide told them whatever they did they should not even think about touching one of the horseshoes because they typically were dangerously hot while they were being worked on. One fellow couldn't resist. He picked one up and immediately threw it down. The guide hollered at him, reminding him of the danger. The fellow laughed it off stubbornly and announced how it just doesn't take him that long to look at a horseshoe. Well, friends, it didn't take me long to get hold of our outside pipes, make some alterations on the insulation, and get back into the house. Okay. I admit it. I no longer can handle the cold like I did many years ago. When I was a teen a handful of us boys decided to do some cold weather camping and fishing on one of the area lakes. It was in January. We put out trot lines and would run them now and then to see if we had caught any. On one trip the boat crew began daring each other to see who would go in for a swim. It was windy and cold. I couldn't stand it, so, I stripped down to my undies and dove in. No one came with me. I swam around for a few minutes acting like it was great. To tell the truth, I was freezing. It actually took my breath away. Today I need a nebulizer just to tell the story. 

We do have to get out in the cold tonight. The wife and I both sing in the choir at our local assembly, (Mims Baptist, Conroe, TX), and tonight we will be a part of a worship gathering which will include a concert by a group called Shane and Shane. Our choir along with two other choirs from other churches will be in the choir loft with an estimated 150 voices. The audience will include some 150 worship pastors and/or leaders who are in town for a worship conference. Our goal is to lead ourselves and others into a recognition of God and in doing so we would offer up to Him deserved worship and adoration. Back in the day I could sing a little. Today, I often wonder if I can sing a lick, but, I can do what I can do, hopefully, for the honor and glory of God. If you are in the area you might think about joining us. You will need a ticket for the concert to get in. You can get one by going to the Mims Church website. They will send you a link for an email and after you pay you will get one of those scan thingies with a barcode for them to check at the door. Do what? That's where we are folks. No paper tickets anymore, just a barcode in an email to demonstrate you have paid for your ticket. Well, I never. I'm kind of glad some of the preacher folk I grew up around are not here to see it. They would likely think it has something to do with the mark of the beast, the antichrist, or something of that sort. I didn't say it didn't but for now I've got mine somewhere on my phone, hopefully, ready to scan for tonight.

 

My wife groaned this morning when she announced we were beginning in our daily Bible readings in the Book of Leviticus. I've heard the late Dr. Adrian Rogers threaten his congregation with doing a series from Leviticus if they didn't pay better attention. He was joking. The reason this book is thought of in this way has to do with its emphasis on a large number of detailed, seemingly archaic laws regarding ritual purity, animal sacrifices, and dietary restrictions, which can appear strange and outdated to modern readers, especially when considering the context of contemporary morality and social norms; many find it difficult to relate to and understand the practices described within the book, leading to perceptions of it as overly complex and restrictive. All of that is true but the essence of the book shows forth God's desire to have a relationship with His chosen people and how they must respond in order to meet with Him. This should inform each of us what the ultimate sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ is all about. It was to bring us into right relationship with God. Here's the inspired explanation as given through the Apostle Paul, writing in Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 21-26: "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Now those are some powerful truths right there. I may not comprehend it all, but, thanks be to God I can apprehend it by faith. Amen. See you next time, Lord willing.