Reb Rev's Blog

“casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” – I Peter 5:7

My son, Jared, and I have been fishing buddies for his entire life.

When he was little, sometimes he would get a backlash when he was casting his line out. I always cautioned him to let me know when that happened and I would get the tangle out, not to try to untangle it himself.

However, on many occasions he would get the backlash and try to fix it and by the time he called me, it was a terrible mess –taking much longer for me to fix and sometimes resulting in having to cut the line. It always resulted in him getting more frustrated and discouraged. It was only after much angst and turmoil he would give it to me.

You know, God has asked us to give us cares and concerns. Why do we still fuss over them and try to fix them ourselves? We always wind up more frustrated and discouraged. God can always fix our problem, but at times we do damage to ourselves and others while carrying out our feeble efforts.

He tells us to give Him all of our troubles because He cares for us. Try Him. Trust Him. Cast away.

“Servant” vs. “Slave,” is more than just a matter of terminology. It should be an attitude and a way of life for the believer. Slave” by John MacArthur, is a well documented work which outlines what the life of a slave of Christ would look like.

MacArthur outlines the implications of the lordship of Christ, His role in our purchase, pardon, and adoption. And, our responsibility in each aspect of that relationship.

I mentioned this work is well documented. Each chapter has a wealth of footnotes. There are many in-text references as well. Those, at times, are overdone.

The message of the book is an important one for the modern Christian in America. We have, collectively, a “me first” attitude toward life and sadly to our relationship with God. Prayer requests are often selfish, salvation is all about the “mansion on the hilltop,” and service is seen as optional.

“Slave” should be read with humility and an open heart, that we may be “doers of the word and not hearers only.”

I post these reviews as a member of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger Program. I receive a free copy of the book, but am not required to give a positive review.  Check it out at http://www.booksneeze.com

“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.” – Proverbs 22:1

Many years ago, while driving in southwest Georgia, we had a flat tire. The tire was changed, but the spare was one of those little “donut” tires, so we made our way to a tire shop in my dad’s home town.

Being southwest Georgia in the middle of summer it was so hot the trees were whistling for the dogs, so I decided to take Eileen and Jared to a coffee shop so they could wait where it was cool.

The tire was fixed and as I went to pay, I realized Eileen had my wallet in her purse- several miles away. Well, here I was from out of town, out of state and no money. Not wanting to walk the several mile round trip to get my wallet, I asked he shop owner if I could take the car and drive over promising to come back – with no id, no money, no nothing as collateral.

In the process of explaining my predicament, I told him I was in town to visit my Dad. He asked who my dad was and I told him. “You take that car and go on, I know you’ll be back,” he said, “your Daddy is as honest as the day is long.” So, I went to get Eileen, Jared and my wallet, and drove back to pay for the tire.

My Dad’s good name was a treasure to him – and blessing for me, not only that day, but for many, many years.

The verse above tells us the importance of a good name. It is a blessing to inherit one, and a treasure to keep, not just for ourselves but for future generations as well.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. – Proverbs 4:23

Exactly two years ago this week, I was waking up in intensive care at the Heart Center of Pitt County Memorial Hospital after my heart attack.

I’ve learned a lot since then and done some things I knew then I should have been doing. A lot of my diet was destructive to my heart health and I had to determine to make some changes to ensure I wasn’t hurting my heart.

While this is a truth physically, it is also true spiritually. What we take in, what we dwell upon, and how we “exercise” our heart spiritually either help, or hurt, our heart.

If we allow impure and destructive thoughts and ideas, we are taking in an unhealthy diet for our spiritual heart. When we don’t spend time in God’s Word, prayer, fellowship and acts of faith, we are failing to exercise and do the things which cause our heart to grow stronger spiritually.

The verse above reminds us that while there are a lot of important things we do, maintaining our spiritual heart health should be a top priority. After all, the heart is the center of our health.

My prayer for you this week is that you will indeed guard your heart with all diligence – and your life will be blessed as a result.