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February 2005
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THE THREE STOOGES!
By Joan
Morrone
(all scriptures are from the King James Bible)
Are there things in your past that still have you bound in mind and
spirit? God says we become new creatures. This is true but you are the
one who has to release the old man. Jesus gives the power. Isaiah
61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek, he has sent me to bind up the
broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of
the prison to those who are bound." Luke 4:18 fulfills that prophesy
when Jesus began his ministry here on earth. Luke 21 "This day is this
scripture fulfilled in your ears."
If you hang on to those bad things in your past, you will barely get off
the ground. If you let the Holy Spirit work on you as you are ready,
you will be "like a tree planted by the
rivers
of water, that brings forth his fruits in his season; his leaf also
shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper." (Psalm 1:3)
When I was first saved, a preacher said that when he got saved he quit
the sin business. Oh, boy! Did I feel guilty! I failed many times. It
was years later when I found out he did not practice what he preached.
This was my first experience with the fact that all "preachers" don't
always preach the truth. If we had quit the sin business as he said, we
wouldn't have need of many of the scriptures that tell us what to do
when we do sin. Jesus wouldn't be needed as our mediator. How easy that
would be. We wouldn't have any battles to fight. We could just drift
along pleasantly.
I've come a long way since those days. I have bruised knees from
tripping and falling often. Jesus came along, dusted me off, took me by
the hand and led me along the right path as though nothing ever
happened. He kept a close watch on this little lamb that strayed from
the flock many times. He never withheld his love from me.
Yesterday I learned a simple truth about God's love and also His sense
of humor from a silly incident. James 5:16 says: "Confess your faults
one to another, pray one for another that you may be healed." I did
just that and to a friend I trusted. My big fault is that I am a
procrastinator, especially where housework is concerned. I developed
this trait from the fact that in my early childhood, no matter what
chore I did, it was never good enough as far as my Mother and Dad were
concerned. I got out of as much work as I could possibly get away
with. Even to hiding when I knew a job had to be done. My theory was
if I couldn't do it right, why do it at all.
My Dad was a perfectionist and passed that on to me. I expected more of
me than what I was able to perform, knowing I would fail. Then my Dad
could say he was right. I married a man just like him. Nothing suited
him so why bother. That mind-set hung on all through my life. I was
afraid to attempt anything new, especially when I was under the scrutiny
of others, the nitpickers. Many things I refused to help with because I
knew someone would make the remark that it wasn't done right. I did not
like being yelled at all the time.
When I confessed this fault to my friend, my eyes were opened. I am 72
years old, going on 73. I don't have to please any one but myself and
God. If I like to live with things not done, it's nobody's concern but
my own. But I lied. I don't like it. I feel so much better when I get
an urge to make my home more presentable. It takes me longer to decide
than to actually do the work. On rare occasions I find I can get so
much done in just 15 minutes. Each chore separately isn't that
hard---some are worse than others. But when they are all piled up and I
become confused to know which one to tackle first is where the problem
comes in.
Are you like I am? You believe you can't do anything right so you may
throw your hands up and do nothing at all. Do one day at a time;
one thing at a time. Don't feel like it's the end of the world if you
don't get it all done at once. Remember Mary; she sat at the feet of
Jesus to hear what he had to say. (Luke 10:38-42) Martha complained to
Jesus because Mary wouldn't help her. He scolded Martha instead of
praising her for her domestic abilities. Mary got the blessing. We
must decide which is most important. Do what has to be done but
sometimes other things prevent you from finishing the job right then.
Other things may take priority. The work will wait. Do you think Jesus
will be upset with you when you face him, if you didn't get your
housework finished?
How often do we have Jesus as a guest? He shouldn't be just a guest but
a member of the family at all times. Mary saw that listening to Jesus
was her top priority. I imagine she did her share of the work at other
times. We have to stop and listen to Jesus, too. Like "they" say
"Woman's work is never done." This is so true. Housekeeping is a
matter of extremes. Like with me, other things come first. When I feel
like it, I get a lot done---very haphazardly. The other extreme is the
constant cleaning and no time for more important things, like church,
family and friends.
My decision to work at duties that were neglected started out great
after a prayer to God to let the Holy Spirit and Angels help me. I
would soon lose interest if I tried to do it by myself. The first thing
I tackled was my dishes---some piled up from the night before. For just
one person, I so easily get a pile of dirty dishes. It seemed so
endless.
I dumped the dish water into the sink, put the dishes away and stashed
the dishpan and rack under the sink. Later, I went back into the kitchen
to get some coffee. There was a pile of water in front of the sink.
Where did that come from? The pipes were leaking. I called Housing
Authority for repairs. The man came pretty quickly.
This is where God's sense of humor came in. I was kind of upset because
of this hold up but God was teaching me something. The man checked it
out and said there was more than one leak. He went out and got more
tools. He informed me that the faucets were rusted out and he had to
replace the old one. When he was done he jokingly made the remark that
the regular maintenance man, Bill, wouldn't do that for me.
I was then reminded of a time a couple weeks ago when the regular man
and two others were sitting across in the park eating lunch. When they
came on the porch someone called them "The three Musketeers". I spoke
up and said: "More like the Three Stooges!" Bill said: "I'll remember
that the next time you need your toilet fixed." He laughed about it. I
told the repairman this story and he began to laugh. "So, you're the
one who called US the three stooges? I'm taking the new faucets back."
He was one of the three!!! I told him I was glad I didn't tell him
before he did the work. I laughed about this the rest of the day. It
showed me just how real God is and what a great sense of humor He has.
He made us, didn't He?
As if that wasn't enough, the very next week I had to call repair. The
handle of the toilet was broke. Bill had to fix it but he didn't remind
me of calling him a stooge. God again reminded me to watch my mouth.
My words could backfire!
Who but God could plan a silly thing like that? He proved to me just how
well He knows me. He meets me on my own level. He is a real person.
He doesn't have to blow any trumpets or put signs in the sky to prove He
is God. I don't need "standing on higher ground experiences" or to be
able to carry on high spiritual conversations with Him.
God talks to me in my language and He has a wonderful sense of humor. I
laughed about it all day and began again the next day. The joy just
bubbled out of me. Every time I think of it, I have to laugh again. It
is amazing that I can laugh. I used to be such a "sour puss" and took
myself too seriously. This "trick" He played on me with the leaking
faucet and exposing my remark about the three stooges brought me closer
to God than any miracle He had ever worked for me and there were many.
I know God is right beside me along with His Son, Jesus. This is the
intimacy I have been looking and praying for. I can sense Him right
beside me saying: "Hi Joan. What's new today? What kind of
shenanigans are you going to pull and then call on me when you get in a
jam? That's O.K. my child. You have to learn by your mistakes. I'm
not going to criticize nor condemn you. I love you too much. You
handle that side of it very well but it's not necessary to do that to
yourself." Feeling guilty all the time is not going to erase the
slate. Jesus did that with his blood. Romans 5:8 & 9 "But God
commended His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall
be saved from wrath through him." Our own merit will never do it.
I try to be so spiritual but I can't fly high without landing with a big
bump. We are mere humans and God deals with us like the humans we are.
He throws in unexplained miracles from time to time to show us He is
also the Almighty who sees all, knows all and can do all things. It took
a shiny new faucet, a gift from God, to really open my eyes and heart to
God and to feel His full presence inside. His love is flowing in and
out all around me. My "spirituality" has nothing to do with whether I
please God or not. That's a kind of a Pharisee mentality. Hey, look at
me! See how good I am. I know what's in the Bible but do I live it?
That is the ultimate question.
WOW! What a revelation. I have just met Jesus in the garden. I sit at
his feet and worship him. I pray that you all have this same pleasure.
The big lesson I learned is to be careful what I say. I may have to
eat my words. Have you ever put your big foot in your mouth?
God bless you
JOAN
MORRONE lives and writes in Pennsylvania. She is a frequent contributor
on
http://faithwriters.com
She says about herself and her writing gift:
"I’m just a nobody that God
has chosen to be a writer. I have no string of letters after my name. I
never had any schooling beyond High School. I graduated from the “School
of Hard Knocks.” And with God’s help, I survived it all!!! I only wish
to write what will be pleasing to God to give Him all the glory."
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