Tag: Empty

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Time for an Oil Change?

An oil change. It’s a necessary part of owning a car. It has to happen about every three to five thousand miles. Why? Because as good as the oil is, it breaks down.  What was originally strong, clean, and pure, over time becomes weak and dirty. Refuse to change the oil and eventually your car becomes sluggish and breaks down. Change the oil and you will notice that it has fresh power, renewed energy, and better gas mileage. You may have the finest car, equipped with every feature, and all the luxuries, but if the oil doesn’t get changed, it quickly becomes worthless. Fresh oil is a must! What is true of our car is true of our spiritual life. It doesn’t matter how long we have been in church, how well we look, or how much knowledge we may have of scripture, without a fresh touch of God’s spirit we will become sluggish, get weary, and break down. Are you lacking spiritual energy? When is the last time a touch of God’s Spirit has overwhelmed you or you got lost in God’s presence? When’s the last time you went to your knees in prayer and couldn’t leave? If it’s been a while, could it be that you need an invigorating anointing? Know this, your world saps your energy and steals your spiritual passion, and a fresh anointing is a must. David said in Psalm 92:10, “. . .I have been anointed with fresh oil.” What David understood was, that fighting giants, defeating adversaries, and living a God led life spends energy and wears down the soul. His solution to the daily grind? A fresh anointing of oil. Feeling weary? Lacking energy? Ask God for an oil change, for Him to send an energizing oil over your heart, soul, and life.

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The Silence of Saturday

Silence. It can be awkward, difficult and confusing. It’s the feeling a widow or widower has the first night after the love of their life has breathed their last breath and they are all alone. It’s the feeling parents experience when they have had a house full of kids, watched them grow from infant to adult, taken them to band, cheered them on in their sports, had them around the dinner table and the last one has left the home and you now come home to an empty house. As a spouse, have you ever got the silent treatment? Often, you’re not sure why, and silently you are asking, did I leave my socks on the table again? Did I say something I wasn’t supposed to at the dinner party? The silence lets you know something is definitely wrong. It’s a first date or walking into a meeting where no one knows anyone and there’s that awkward moment when no one knows what to say or do. Whatever the scenario, silence begs for something to happen, anything. A friend to call the widow. A grandchild to enter the scene of a parent. Or a spouse thinking, please, let me know what I did to create this silence. That is what Saturday was like for those lived through Jesus’ Passion Week. They will survive the hurt, the actions and events of Friday and once they understand, experience and grasp the miraculous resurrection on Sunday, they will celebrate, but the silence of Saturday is overwhelming. On Saturday is when we deal with our own failures of yesterday. On Saturday is when we feel the chill of darkness, that it won, and we lost. On Saturday we live in the real possibility that our Hope is dead, and life will never be the same. On Saturday we feel as though God has failed us. Living in a Saturday? Take heart in Easter! That as impossible as things might feel today, you may be just be a few hours or days away from a life changing moment, an Easter, a moment that makes your life better than you could ever imagine!