Refreshing

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord….” Acts 3:19

            I received this short Scripture verse in the email the other day.  And a kept drifting back to this one partial sentence.  While it starts out with a warning (which many Scripture passages do), it ends with a great abiding promise.  That there will be times of refreshing. Times of refreshing.  I love that phrase.

            What is refreshing to you?

            An ice-cold drink of water on a hot summer day?  Maybe a much needed nap (yah, I know that one.).  The shade of a large oak tree.  Maybe a cup of hot chocolate in January (or even in March when it is cool outside, as it is as I write this).  Maybe a hot cup of coffee - such as I am sipping on now while sitting at the airport waiting for a flight. Maybe you find refreshment in listening to your favorite musical artist, or maybe engaging in your favorite hobby. Maybe it is found in being with your favorite people.

            My hope for you is that you would find refreshment…ultimately…in our Lord.  Through prayer and meditation, through Bible reading and study; through Christ centered fellowship.  Perhaps through serving Christ and his people.  Maybe in times of holy worship?

            Peter, in the passage above links “times of refreshing” with repentance and forgiveness. If we repent (regret our sin)…our sins are wiped out…. then there are times of refreshing….   I love that order.  I pray you do also.  It is the order of Christian life.  It is what Christ alone offers. 

            I pray you have accepted that offer.  And enjoy the refreshing.

Slippy

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison….” 2 Corinthians 4:17

Two weeks ago, I got stuck in the snow.  Well, my car did anyway. I was in my neighborhood on a cold and snowy afternoon, and my car, a 2007 Dodger-blue five speed Pontiac Vibe that I dearly love, a  car that doesn’t handle ‘slippy’ conditions real well, was laboring to climb up the small hill to our house, and once over the crest, was equally laboring to stop.  I convinced it to halt, put it in reverse to turn and back up into my gravel driveway; but the road was slick, and the turn was delayed, and instead of  turning into my spot where I wanted it to be, it ventured into a small snow bank.  I proceeded to put the car into first gear, and tried to will the vehicle out of the snow, but the wheels on the car went round and round…but the car did not nudge.

I got out of the car…whispered a few choice (but not really bad) words regarding my ability to guide that car in the snow…and went into the house to warm up and have a short lunch.

After lunch I went out to the car and looked it over carefully.  What had happened was that the snow was so high (well, not that high, my little car is just so low) that the car had sunk down to the frame in it, and the rear wheels had no chance to overcome that disadvantage.

The good news is that after I went to the garage and got out a flat shovel, and spent about 15 minutes reaching under the car and digging out the snow, I was able to get back in and convince my little vehicle to bolt out of the bank and onto the road…and back to the church I went.

And the apostle Paul writes… “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”

In the overall scheme of things, my little misadventure in the snow was nothing.  But. At the time, I was fairly well irritated with myself.  For a moment anyway.

I know that the apostle was speaking of things far worse than a temporary wedged-in-the-snow situation, that he had more permanent and eternal blessings in mind. Still, I think we need to be very thankful when our ‘light momentary afflictions’ easily go away so we can continue in the here and now.  Because I know that our Lord is concerned about how things are in the here and now as well as how things are going to be in ‘eternal glory’ to come. It is all covered in His love.

And in all these things, major and minor, temporary or permanent, we need to trust in the grace and love of Jesus. His way is not ‘slippy.’ And the small snow banks become simple distractions when the big picture is considered.

I still love my car. The snow has long melted away….

And I’m grateful that He will always love me.