Nichole is one of my favorite students. Her Chinese name is Yuanzhu and she works incredibly hard in my Bible 1 class. Right before the Christmas break, Nichole blessed me with a gift. Honestly, I was not sure what it was. The box said it was an Auto Emergency Tool and it looked almost like the one pictured above but I really had no idea of its function. Fortunately, one of my fellow teachers, Preston Hill, was standing with me and explained its usage. You see, it has a flashlight, a red blinking warning light with a magnet as well as a blade to cut off your seatbelt and a hammer to break out the window if you are trapped or submerged. So to sum it up, I received a gift I hope I never use because it has value basically only in times of emergency and duress.
I would guess most of us have heard that phrase, "When all else fails.....pray." To me, that's kind of how I view my Christmas present from the aforementioned Nichole. You know, tucked under the seat just in case like the fire extinguisher in your kitchen you hope never has to be refilled. It's like my car insurance policy which I've never made a claim against and my agent, the one and only Randy King, hopes I never do! And yet we're told by Jesus to always pray and never give up and Paul wrote we should pray in the Spirit on all occasions. In spite of those exhortations, we treat prayer as a last gasp solution to our latest catastrophe. What a travesty that we bind ourselves and limit our own access to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In a age of connectivity, we are in danger of cutting our own spiritual channels. That's the real calamity.
Applicable quote of the day:
“Let us never forget to pray. God lives. He is near. He is real. He is not only aware of us but cares for us. He is our Father. He is accessible to all who will seek Him.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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