Bottled Up - Martin Wiles

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. Psalm 56:8 NLT

They are bottled up on the cabinet, snuggled on the shelf, and frolicking on the floor, but none are doing what they were initially designed to do.

Old bottles are one of my passions. I don’t go out of my way to find or collect them, but when I come across one at a decent price, I snatch it up. Many in my collection were given to me by people who saw no purpose in having them, and others I’ve bought at discount prices from store owners who didn’t know their true worth. They range from soda bottles to medicine bottles to milk bottles and everything in between, but they all have one thing in common: they’re empty.

None of my bottles are filled with their original contents, nor are they presently being used for their initial purpose. The beauty is now in their historical significance and the unique designs and raised markings they display. I could bottle them up with something—water if nothing more—but they still wouldn’t fulfill their earlier purpose. They serve merely as reminders.

The psalmist was discouraged. Enemy troops tracked him, slanderers stalked him, spies spied on him, and his emotions raged. Appealing to God helped calm his nerves. He reminded himself that God took notice of his situation and could bottle up his fears, disappointments, and sorrows.

Whatever was stored initially in my bottles could be uncorked or uncapped and poured down the recipient’s throat. Pleasure or relief from pain resulted. God can take sorrow, discouragement, and disappointment and bottle them up. But He seals them so tightly no one can release them again.

Life can be overwhelming. Sin taints the world so thoroughly that the results are bound to touch our lives repeatedly until we die. A range of emotions result when they do. Feelings that can lead us in unhealthy directions unless we remember God hasn’t abandoned us.

When I feel overcome with peace-destroying emotions and thoughts, I look at my empty bottles and ask God to do what the psalmist did—bottle them up. Seal them tightly. Cork them completely. And then I ask Him to help me to see clearly what I can glean from the confined contents.

What are some things that are overwhelming you? Ask God to bottle up the things that baffle you.

Father, I thank You that I can come to You with my petitions and pains and count on You to bottle them up so I can live with peace and purpose. 

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God and Strays - Martin Wiles

Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. Luke 15:20 NLT

“If you can’t come up with $600, he’s going to jail.”

My typical day at work melted into something not normal when the phone call came. My teenage son had been arrested for public drunkenness. Fortunately, he hadn’t gotten his driver’s license yet, or he might have been arrested for DUI.

I didn’t have $600 and wouldn’t have paid it anyway. Not that I was being hard-hearted, but my son had strayed for the last several years—into bad relationships, unhealthy habits, and other areas that took him far away from God. Perhaps jail would teach him a lesson, I thought.

His jail stint was short-lived. A friend bailed him out. Jail time didn’t bring the wanderer home.

Years later, he’s still a stray—of sorts. He has married, settled down, works hard, and has given us three grandchildren. My hopes were lifted once when he asked, “Dad, do you think that once a person is saved, they are always saved?” Evidently, his straying had him wondering also.

“Yes, son, if they truly meant it when they accepted Christ,” I responded. But my hopes that he’d wander back to God didn’t materialize.

Jesus’ story of the two sons mirrors numerous families. Whether we call them strays, prodigals, wanderers, or black sheep matters not. Either way, they are gone from the faith. But the story also gives hope of their return and assures us God will accept them when they do.

Many find hope in the verse, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). I’m sure my parents did when I was doing my wandering.

No path we wander on is too far for God to welcome us home if we come to our senses and repent. But we must decide to do so, be sincere, turn around, and head in the right direction. Home doesn’t move; we do.

Like the father, God still waits with open arms to welcome my son and any other strays home. If you’ve wandered away, He’s also still waiting for you.  

What keeps you from turning to God?

Father, I thank You that Your arms are always open to those who decide to come home. 

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Chicken Fried Pork Chops

 Ingredients

6 THICK PORK CHOPS

½ CUP FLOUR

2 TEASPOONS SALT

1 TEASPOON SAGE

½ TEASPOON GARLIC POWDER

OIL FOR FRYING

2 CANS CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP

½ CUP WATER

Directions

COMBINE FLOUR, SALT, AND GARLIC POWDER.

ROLL PORK CHOPS IN FLOUR MIXTURE.

BROWN CHOPS IN OIL.

PLACE IN BAKING PAN.

COMBINE SOUP, WATER, AND SAGE. POUR OVER PORK CHOPS.

COVER WITH ALUMINUM FOIL.

BAKE AT 300 DEGREES FOR 3 HOURS OR UNTIL TENDER.

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Do What You Gotta Do - Martin Wiles

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. Luke 16:10 NLT

Some mornings, I awoke confused . . . not sure I had done what I should have done. 

At fourteen, I went to work at the local Piggly Wiggly, bagging groceries. But at sixteen, I had some bills and needed more income. A friend who delivered papers for our state newspaper told me the paper needed delivery persons. I thought, Sounds like a simple enough job. So, I paid a visit to the person who could hire me. 

We sat in his living room, and he explained my responsibilities. I would deliver seven days a week, collect money from subscribers, send in my fees, and attempt to get new customers. Sounded like an enormous responsibility for a sixteen-year-old, but I am a firstborn, and responsibility has always come naturally. I wasn’t worried. 

What I didn’t know at the time was that my customers were scattered over a ten-mile radius, a radius not near my house. After all, this was the state paper, not our local paper. I also didn’t know that I would have to get up at 2:30 in the morning to pick up the papers, fold them, insert any advertisers, and then deliver them by a specific time. That involved a little much. 

I couldn’t depend on my parents to wake me. At 2:30, Mom would not have been in the bed long—she was a night owl. Dad would have been dead to the world. I was on my own. 

I set my trusty alarm. After picking up and delivering the papers and returning home, I had only an hour to sleep before getting up for school. Needless to say, I slept through most of my classes. And some mornings . . . quite a few mornings . . . I asked Mom, “Did I run my paper route.” Although she wasn’t up, she somehow knew whether I had been. I needed the money, so I did what I had to do.

Jesus also had something to say about doing what we must do. If people show faithfulness in small things, they will demonstrate trustworthiness with more extensive responsibilities. And isn’t life that way? We must typically prove ourselves at our jobs or careers before being given promotions. 

Unless we’re trust fund kids—or the recipients of large inheritances—we must work for a living. Bills must be paid. We need necessities to exist—food, water, clothing. This work we’re paid to accomplish. As God’s representative, we should demonstrate dependability in our responsibilities. 

But God’s work—unless we’re in full-time ministry—is voluntary, but nonetheless equally . . . even more . . . important. God needs faithful servants so His Kingdom work can advance in the way and at the pace He wants. And when we’re dependable with the small things He assigns, He’ll give us larger tasks to complete. 

How can you do a better job of doing faithfully what He gives you to do?

Father, I depend on You for the courage to do those tasks You assign me. 

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Change Is Good - Martin Wiles

Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God. Ephesians 4:17–18 NLT

Change was the norm; I merely had to adjust. So I kept telling myself, “Change is good.”

Some preachers remain at churches for lengthy periods of time. Dad never did. At least not until he reached midlife and decided to stay put for twenty years. By that time, I had long ago left home and established my own family. His moving didn’t affect me anymore.

While I was growing up, five years was the longest he had ever remained at one church—and that was to let me finish high school in the same place. Before, it was three years at one church, four at the next, and one at the following. I never established many friendships, and I was tired of saying goodbye to the ones I had. Change became the norm I accepted but didn’t like.

Believers at the church in Ephesus had undergone a change. They had discarded their immoral lifestyles and no longer worshipped a multiplicity of pagan gods. Yet the temptation to return to the lifestyles they had put aside was always prevalent.

Change is peppered with negative connotations. “We’ve never done it that way before” and “I’m not sure the people will like it” are two common objections heard when change is suggested. Some rebel against change and leave the organization or relationship. Others accept it grudgingly, sticking around to cause friction. A few embrace it and enjoy the new opportunities change can bring.

Salvation ushers in the most radical change possible. God removes our old natures and replaces them with new ones. This is change for the good. While Satan still works through our old human tendencies, we now have God’s power, allowing us to live pure and holy lifestyles. And we should. What God has changed us from lies in the past; what he has transformed us into dwells in the present and future.

This change allows us to live with the peace of knowing our Savior and we are okay. He’s wiped the sin slate clean, accepted us into His family, and established a friendship that change can never disrupt.

Enjoy the change God can bring into your life. Any change he brings is for your good.

Father, give me the courage to live by the standards of the changed nature you’ve given me at salvation. 

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Making a List - Martin Wiles

Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt!” Numbers 14:4 NLT

Making a list and checking it twice—or three or four times—enhances productivity.

I’m the king of list-making. I’ve been making lists since I was young and never outgrew the practice. Since I have a good memory, making lists is probably unnecessary, but I feel more confident when I do. I list what I plan to accomplish weekly on my calendar—of which I keep several. I also list annual events like birthdays and anniversaries. Don’t want to forget those.

My wife follows suit. She makes a list before going to the grocery store, a list of announcements to put on the screen at church, a list of things for the church calendar, and a list of doctor appointments and other appointments for our aging parents and us.

Occasionally, things that shouldn’t creep into my list. Perhaps not sinful, just unhealthy or unwise. Like grabbing that bag of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They weren’t on the list . . . at least not the written one.

God’s people once let something slither onto their list that shouldn’t have. Egypt. They had just left four hundred years of slavery, but the challenges of the wilderness and the dangers of the anticipated Promised Land lured their eyes backward. They didn’t go, but it took forty years of wilderness wandering for God to convince them to strike Egypt from their list.

Jesus says loving Him totally and then others as myself should be the top two things on my list. Family follows. God created it long before He did the church. Healthy and intact families are the foundation for a thriving society. Church comes next. God has given us gifts and talents He wants us to use in and outside of the church to further His Kingdom. That’s why I’m a member of the 5 a.m. writing club. Then come hobbies. I need time for myself. Time to unwind. Time to enjoy something I’m not going to be graded on, tested for, or paid money to do.

If we do all the above and, in that order, it’s doubtful we’ll have time for anything else. But if we do, it should come last.

How does your list stack up against what God says should be on a life list? What things do you need to add or remove from your list?

Father, help me put my life lists in the order that would please You.

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Chicken Divan

Ingredients 

3 CUPS CHICKEN COOKED AND CUBED
1 CUP MAYONNAISE
1 BAG FROZEN BROCCOLI SPEARS (THAWED)
1 TEASPOON LEMON
2 CANS CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP
1 CUP SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE
1 SLEEVE RITZ (CRUSHED)

 Directions

PLACE BROCCOLI IN A 9 X 13 CASSEROLE DISH. TOP WITH CHICKEN.
IN A SEPARATE BOWL, MIX SOUP, MAYONNAISE, AND JUICE.
POUR OVER CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI.
TOP WITH CHEESE THEN RITZ.
BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 30 MINUTES.

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