Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

 

I had heard that it would be a good idea to put a sticky glue trap under the beds to catch spiders. When I was at the store, I figured the stickier the better, so I purchased the  heavy-duty ones. Later, my daughter Mariam came for an overnight visit, bringing my three granddaughters and their new puppy. Brutus is an adorable mini poodle mix with little chocolate curls all over and tiny hazel eyes. During the evening, Mariam, Brutus, and I were in a bedroom when I walked out and left them. Mariam then set the puppy down and, in a flash, he went under the bed and found the glue trap. I’m glad it wasn’t his nose that got stuck. Nevertheless, it was a huge ordeal to release his hairy back foot as the glue stretched out about a mile. While laughing hysterically, we did the best we could with scissors and set him down on the carpeted floor. He couldn’t walk worth a hoot because his foot would stick every time he took a step. (More laughter.)  Realizing something was terribly wrong, Brutus would just stand there.  When Mariam coaxed him to “come,” his little back leg would shake like Elvis as he tried to pry it off the carpet. (More laughter with crying.) Fortunately, we finally thought of using Goo Gone.

 

If you think your life is hopeless because it’s just one sticky mess after another, think again. Jesus is an expert at cleaning up messes. “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18 NKJV). God promises that even though one’s sins are as deep-dyed and irremovable as the stain of blood, His grace can restore a messed-up life to moral whiteness and purity. It’s amazing to think that Jesus’ blood washes away our sin and makes us clean.

 

I’m reminded of the song “Something Beautiful” written by Bill and Gloria Gaither. Allow these lyrics to offer encouragement if you’re wondering if there‘s any relief in sight: “Something beautiful, something good; all my confusion He understood. All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, but He made something beautiful of my life.”

 

I also remember singing a hymn written by Anna W. Waterman: “Come  ye sinners, lost and hopeless, Jesus’ blood can make you free. For He saved the worst among you, when He saved a wretch like me. And I know, yes, I know Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean.” Apostle Paul remarked about being the worst among sinners before He came to Christ Jesus. “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ — and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15-16 NLT).

 

Here is a key Christian truth: Christ came to save sinners from the mess of sin. Paul considered himself the worst sinner before the blood of Jesus cleaned him up and set him free.  Since Jesus is no respecter of persons, He’ll do the same for you if you’re tired of your sticky mess.

 

The Key: Jesus’ blood works way better than Goo Gone.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29

The following is the email answer I sent to United Airlines, following its generic “thank you” response to the kind comment I wrote about Austin, an employee at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s airport.

“I’m not sure anyone will read this, but this ‘compliment’ almost did not happen because your website made it impossible to write because, as I later found out when I spoke to one of your customer service agents, (a) I tried to write it ‘before my final flight leg was over,’ and (b) I tried to write it ‘after my final flight leg was over.’ Not sure what other options there were. “Two phone calls and numerous attempts to navigate your website left me more than frustrated. Maybe you need to hire someone like me to find a better way to do this simple task. As I said when I spoke (finally) to your supervisor, I’m surprised any of your employees ever are complimented. The process is far too tedious.”

Is it Christian to write such a response? My family says that I am “review-happy.” I tell them that it works both ways.

My favorite evaluation is an A+ one. I will go to great lengths (like I did for Austin) to commend an employee for going above-and-beyond the required service recommended. I probably write five positive letters for every negative one. However, I believe that there are times employers need to know when their customers are receiving less-than-desirable service.

If I have a problem, I will contact the company directly as opposed to writing a bad review. (My son in the restaurant business tells me that he prefers emails/texts directly to him as opposed to reading a bad review on line.)

I’m never trying to get anyone fired; I’m always trying to help the company improve, a behavior my husband finds unnecessary and embarrassing.

As for Austin, he had the best attitude when my flight from Tulsa to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, was cancelled. I guess he saw an old, clueless woman who needed help. I didn’t say otherwise.

Not only did he book me a nearby hotel, he gave me meal vouchers for three meals and told me how to speed-dial the hotel to pick me up after I retrieved my luggage. Austin even offered to walk me to baggage claim, but I figured that would royally tick off the customers in line behind me, so I assured him that I could follow the “Baggage Claim” signs with no problem. I’m not that old. Plus, Tulsa is not that large of an airport.

Nevertheless, I thought that Austin deserved a commendation from the airlines. It’s the way I’m wired. Years ago, I took a “Spiritual Gifts” test to see how God had equipped me to bless other people. My gift was Encouragement. I love that gift, but I know that sometimes I am too self-absorbed to share it like I’m supposed to, and I’m usually not as persistent as I was with United.

The opportunities to use it are endless. Who doesn’t like to be complimented? This past week, I received a hand-written note from a wonderful Christian woman who thanked me for helping her clean up after a group meeting. I still smile when I think of that note, but it also was a reminder of how I need to do that more often to other people.

I started yesterday in Walmart when I passed a young woman with green and red hair. “You look like a really fun person,” I told her. She grinned from ear to ear before thanking me. Definitely easier than contacting the airline. I think it’s a gift I will encourage myself to practice.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

 

 

I readily admit that I don’t have cheerleader qualities — it takes a lot of strong muscles to stack people on top of each other and not collapse. I’m also mesmerized at the ability of  individuals who can to do the same thing at the same time with a bunch of other people.  My daughter played saxophone in the Pitt State marching band and, as an onlooker, I was astonished. If I’d been in the band, I would have spent most of my time on the ground  being trampled because I would have been out of sync with everybody else.

 

I’ve celebrated a number of birthdays and often say, “I ain’t 22 anymore.” Recently, my two kids and I had a frank conversation about aging muscles. Shortly afterwards, I joined the fitness center in order to stand firm and fight against the course of nature. Everything was fine until the day my trainer, Mr. Flex, had me do 30 minutes of squats with hand weights. Apparently, I hadn’t used those particular muscles since grade school. I was impressed that I could even walk to my vehicle on rubbery gelatin legs like that. Lying down in the parking lot and getting run over almost seemed like a realistic option.

 

The choices we make today impact the quality of our lives spiritually and physically. Our spiritual health can be compared to our physical health because we’re equipped with both types of muscles. But we have to work at staying strong — it doesn’t just happen automatically. We have to make the choice to do preventive maintenance and upgrading  on purpose. The road of life is often uphill and we need to be strong in order to make it to the top. But, there’s help for the climb. “The joy that the Lord gives will make you strong” (Nehemiah 8:10 GNT). You might say that God has a storehouse of muscle rub.

 

Coasting down a hill works just fine until a mountain of crisis appears on the horizon.  When you need power to climb, but discover there isn’t any reserve, you can find yourself in a world of hurt. God’s Word has a lot to say about the importance of our strength. We must take the initiative to encourage ourselves in the Lord, just like King David did. “But I know that God helps me. The Lord is the one who keeps me going” (Psalm 54:4 NIRV). God will keep His children strong, but we have some important instructions to follow if we want to flex those spiritual muscles.

 

Jesus strongly cautions us about what will happen if we foolishly think we can coast through life with no preparation for storms. “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears My teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24-27 NLT).

 

I chose not to lay down in the parking lot, and believers can choose not to lay down spiritually. Paul wrote to the believers in the Church at Ephesus: “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11 NLT).

 

The Key: Keep your spiritual muscles strong so you won‘t collapse under pressure.

William McKinley served in Congress before he was elected the 25^th President of the United States.  On his way to his congressional office one morning, he boarded a streetcar and took the only remaining seat.  Minutes later, a woman who appeared to be ill boarded the car.  Unable to find a seat, she clutched an overhead strap next to one of McKinley’s colleagues.  The other congressman hid behind his newspaper and did not offer the woman his seat.  McKinley walked up the aisle, tapped the woman on the shoulder, offered her his seat, and took her place in the aisle.

Years later when McKinley was President, this same congressman was recommended to him for a post as ambassador to a foreign nation.  McKinley refused to appoint him.  He feared a man who didn’t have the courtesy to offer his seat to a sick woman in a crowded streetcar would lack the courtesy and sensitivity necessary to be an ambassador in a troubled nation.  The disappointed congressman bemoaned his fate to many in Washington but never did learn why McKinley chose someone else for the position.

Galations 6:7 cautions us: Do not be deceived.  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows. In other words, actions have consequences. Charles Stanley put it this way: “We cannot sow crabgrass and expect to reap pineapples.”

In the 1970’s my husband was playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.  The manager of the team was Tommy Lasorda, the then-manager of the Los Angeles’ Dodgers.  One evening at dinner he shared that when he was twelve years old, he attended a baseball game, but before it started, he approached a player and asked for an autograph.  Cursing at Tommy, the player told him to buzz off.  One decade later when Lasorda was pitching in the minor leagues, he faced that same major leaguer who was in AAA on a rehabilitation assignment.  Lasorda threw at his head.  Everyone knew it was intentional.  Later when the player asked Lasorda what he had done to deserve that, Tommy answered, “You should know,” and walked away.

Actions have consequences. We over-eat and health issues arise.  We spoil our kids and end up with…well, spoiled adults. We think only of ourselves and end up friendless.  We drink and drive and someone dies.  We do drugs and our family suffers.  We love money (or anything, for that matter) more than God and judgment day won’t be pretty.

Unfortunately, some people don’t learn from their mistakes.  They live by the philosophy that they can sow wild oats all week and then go to church on Sunday morning and pray for a crop increase.  Galations 6:8 addresses the seriousness of the issue.  For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. The laws of the harvest cannot be mocked.  Our hearts need to be fertile ground for planting seeds and not weeds.  The choice is ours.  Which shall it be?

 

Keys to the Kingdom

 

 

After I snipped off the extra satin-covered button from my pastel-blue sweater, I placed it in my button box. In comparison to my Mom’s button collection, mine is considerably smaller. I store my buttons in a little round plastic margarine container that’s probably 40 years old. As I removed the lid, I pondered as to why there were so few buttons in it. And then I realized that, back in the day, women salvaged buttons from worn-out clothing because they were still functional, useable, and valuable. Mom’s buttons are displayed in a glass container in my daughter’s bedroom. One lace-covered button is from the pastel-blue suit she wore to my brother’s wedding in 1967. I wish that button could talk.

 

If our walk with Christ has become worn-out or hum-drum, we can fix that. There’s still something useful and valuable in our spirit; so we simply need to take the necessary steps to renew it. The apostle Paul told his young protégé, Timothy, to stir up the flame. “This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you” (2 Timothy 1:6 NLT). Smoldering Christians are to take the genuine faith they’ve got and develop it into a strong blazing fire of faith and service.

 

How? Don’t chuck church, ditch discipleship, or pass on prayer. Instead, poke the coals and stoke the fire. When the flame of faith is rekindled, we can walk in love, serve in joy, and rest in peace. As Christ’s followers, it’s up to us to stir up our faith so we can truly believe that God is working things out for our good. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). Let’s remember not to omit the latter  portion of this scripture, “and are called according to His purpose for them.“

 

My late husband loved to build a fire in the winter. That responsibility has now fallen to me; I can’t say that I love to build it, but I love the comfort of a hot burning fire. It’s worth the effort to get the results. If we will stir it up, God will finish it. “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT). God does the work in us, but we’ve got to give Him some live coals to work with.

 

It’s no easy task to keep the fire burning hot enough to sustain a cozy temperature in the house. It takes diligence to stay on top of your spiritual journey too. “Without faith, it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to God. For whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out” (Hebrews 11:6 AMP).

 

Paul writes and encourages Timothy: “For I recall the sincere faith which is in your heart — a faith which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and then in your mother Eunice, and, I am fully convinced, now dwells in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5 WNT). Paul makes it clear that Timothy is blessed to be walking in his godly heritage, but his belief and trust comes from his own genuine, sincere, and solid faith. He alone is responsible for building and maintaining a strong faith and carrying out his calling.

 

The Key: Salvage the faith you’ve got and be diligent to burn strong and hot.

A visiting pastor attended a men’s breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area.  The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast.

“Lord, I hate buttermilk,” the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going. The farmer loudly proclaimed, “Lord, I hate lard.” Now the pastor was growing concerned. Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, “And Lord, you know I don’t much care for raw white flour.” The pastor once again opened an

eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one to feel uncomfortable.

Then the farmer added, “But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So, Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we don’t understand what you’re saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits. Amen.”

I have to wonder if God isn’t doing a little blending in America. A country that started off so strong has taken a turn that (hopefully) is teaching us much, mainly that God remains in charge.  He is fully capable of making warm, fresh biscuits out of some pretty unpalatable ingredients, and yes, some of us require a little more kneading than others.                                     So, if we agree that this blending is our answer, then  2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV gives us instructions on our goal: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear. 

To do that, we need to make Ps. 139:23-24 our daily/hourly prayer.  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.

Examining our own hearts is pointless, no doubt because we will find a way to justify our evil actions/attitudes. After all, we haven’t killed anyone.  We didn’t loot stores or throw iced water at the police officers.  We merely sat in our comfy living rooms and watched on television as the wickedness of someone else’s heart played out.  But that’s not what God calls us to do.  He wants us to lay our ugly hearts at His throne and ask Him to reveal any wickedness in us (even though it is so much more our nature to find the wickedness in others).

Get that?  Any wickedness.  Any times when we have remained silent and not spoken out against bigotry and violence.  Any times we have secretly celebrated payback between our race and theirs.  Any times we have allowed others’ prejudiced behavior to affect ours.  Any times we have not asked God to help us examine our hearts, to call our wickedness into account and to change our ways.

Last year I watched Just Mercy, the true story of Harvard law school graduate Bryan Stevenson’s defense of wrongly condemned Walter McMillian who was sentenced to die for the murder of an 18-year-old girl.  Stevenson quickly learned that in the South, he, a black man, was himself a target, simply because of the color of his skin.

Refusing to return hate for hate, he founded the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.  He and his staff have won reversals or release from prison for over 135 wrongly condemned death row prisoners and won relief for hundreds of others wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced.  Black and white.  Blending at its finest.

If God is stirring something in your heart like He is mine, then we need to agree to be part of the blending process.  Granted, we’ve come a long way, but until we determine what we can do to make a difference, we will have a long way to go.

 

 

 

 

Keys to the Kingdom
By Carolyn Tucker
Squirrel with a Mission

It was a beautiful day and I was walking down my lane when I heard a strange noise. It was in the rhythm of using a handsaw but with a squeaking sound (E e E e E e). I didn’t see anything on the ground, so I looked up and there he was. One of my cute furry friends sitting on a limb, working on a hard black-walnut shell trying to get to the nut goodie. He was on a meal mission and nothing I did or said caused any reaction from him. Yes, I talked to the squirrel in a loud voice and he totally ignored me. (That’s how I know he was a male and not a female. A female would have chattered back to me.) I was impressed with his razor-sharp teeth and undeterred determination.

Christ followers need perseverance like my little friend. He was holding a treasure in his tiny hands and he would not stop gnawing on that nut! He could not be distracted or scared away because he knew he was safely out of my reach. I could have yelled at him until I lost my voice but it wouldn’t have done any good. So I gave up and left him alone.

The Book of Job is not one of my favorite books in the Bible, but it does have valuable lessons for us. I like the very beginning where Job is described as a blessed man of complete integrity who feared God, stayed away from evil, and was the finest man in all the earth. The middle section wears me out with 40 chapters of deep depression and worthless friends. And Job admits to speaking amiss: “…I was talking about things I knew nothing about. …now I have seen You with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance” (Job 42:3-6 NLT).

Satan and Job’s not-so-brilliant wife did their dead-level best to get Job to curse God and die. But even when Satan destroyed everything and struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot, Job proved himself to be true to God. Two times, Job proved Satan to be a liar: “Satan replied to the Lord, ’Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’” (Job 1:9-11 NLT). But scripture proves that Job did not sin by blaming God for what Satan did.

Again, “Satan replied to the Lord, ’Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’” (Job 1:4-5 NLT). Satan did his worst and Job did his best. Obviously, God knew Job better than Satan did. The only way to go through calamity is to stick like glue to God. When we’re run through the ringer and come out standing, God is glorified.

The final chapter of Job’s misery (which Satan caused) ends when Job obeyed God and prayed for his three friends. “When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before. So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning“ (Job 42:10,12 NLT). We see the awesome power of prayer right here. Job lived 140 more years and died an old man who had lived a long, full, and blessed life. And he probably got a new wife too.

The Key: Come hell or high water, be an undeterred Christ follower.

I find it difficult to be around married couples who constantly correct each other’s stories.  Recently, Dave and I spent a couple of days with such a twosome. They both love the Lord and are bold in their faith, but that didn’t keep them from annoying me.

Conversations went like this:

He: So, we were on a 32-foot houseboat when we nearly rolled over.  We were…

She: It was a 30-foot houseboat.

He: Okay, but we were terrified that the storm—that came fast and out of nowhere…

She: We had a warning.  We saw the clouds in the distance but didn’t know it was as bad as it was.

He: You’re thinking of the time we were in our sailboat and we…

She:  No.  Remember, we had Jenn with us and she was five years old and she was hiding under the kitchen table.  The sailboat was another time.

He: No, it wasn’t.  When the lightning flashed, we were alone on the 32-foot houseboat.

My head was ping-ponging back and forth as I attempted to make eye contact with the person speaking.

The fact was, I didn’t care what kind or size of boat they were on.  I could see the frustration in the husband’s face who couldn’t say anything without being admonished.

The wife, for some reason, didn’t seem to mind as much when she was set straight.

But I did.

I understand that we are to love those who frustrate us, but is there a point where we speak up…in love, of course?  Usually, I can make a joke to point out other’s offensive behaviors, but if they aren’t close friends, is that my place?

Our goal is to become more like Christ.  To “nit-pick” makes us nothing like him. So, shouldn’t I help this couple by pointing out how annoying their pattern is and how they will never have really close friends because they are so irritating? I need wise counsel on this.  I turn to God’s Word.

As I search Scripture for answers, I am directed to Matthew 7:3-5: Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Not the resolution I’m seeking, but I shouldn’t be surprised.

It seems that every time I set out to correct someone else’s flaws, I have to look in a mirror.  This time, however, I can disregard Matthew’s writing because correcting my hubby is not one of my problems.

Dave and I are to go to dinner with this couple tonight.  We discuss ways we can address this annoyance.

“Dave, maybe I could just come out and say, ‘Remember when you brought up the 32-foot houseboat that almost rolled over and were immediately set straight?”

“Well, Patty, you could do that, except the conversation started with his wife talking about an almost-accident she had on a jet ski when the storm came in.”

“Absolutely did not happen that way.  Remember she said it was 30-feet long?

“Maybe we’re not the ones who should try and help.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

 

 

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

 

In 50 years of driving, only one vehicle proved to be a disappointment. She looked good on the outside, but the problem was under the hood. In my opinion, this vehicle should never have rolled off the assembly line! The car was just fine sitting in the garage doing nothing. But when the rubber met the road, she had no power for passing gear. She couldn’t run a quarter mile much faster than a tortoise because the body was too heavy for the itty-bitty engine, making her performance annoying and unsafe.

 

Christ followers are in a race, not a competition of comparison against one another, to cross the finish line just inside the pearly gates. There are no tricks or shortcuts in this race, but there is a participant’s handbook known as the Holy Bible. The writer of Hebrews states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1,2 NLT). We should be encouraged to know that Jesus has done everything necessary to ensure that we can cross the finish line by grace if we persevere in faith.

 

Do we realize that the Old Testament saints have passed their batons to us and they’re  sitting in the grandstands cheering us on? My brother, who finished his race over a year ago, has a track record that was never broken at the Stockton High School. The only casual race I ran and won was in PE when the coach told us to run to the first boat dock and back. I remember seeing the finish line and giving it all I had. It was just enough to break Patsy’s record by only a few seconds. Physical and spiritual races are run with enduring perseverance without any weights to hold us back.

 

In World War II, Doolittle’s Raiders had to strip those heavy B-25s down to the bare necessities in order to get them off the carrier. They did something that had never been done before, and it worked. The pilots and crew members understood that their lives were at stake if they didn’t remove the weight that would actually kill them. We don’t want our lives to be too cluttered and clunky in order to move forward in a satisfactory manner. We need clean hands and a pure heart to run this race — in fact, we’ll be disqualified without them. “Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies…will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their Savior” (Psalm 24:4,5 NLT). The blood of Jesus, pure motives, right actions, exclusive dedication to God, and inner integrity are qualifiers to enter the race.

 

Only you and God know what specific junk could be weighing you down, holding you back, and cluttering your spiritual race. Be aware that believers are sometimes weighed down with trying to do too many good things which can cause us to lose our joy. We must use wisdom in order to experience the freedom to run victoriously without collapsing from exhaustion.

 

The Key: Strip off any weights dragging you down and finish the faith race you started.