Stinky Days - Martin Wiles

When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2 NLT

“Meme, I found a stick,” our middle grandson yelled. But it wasn’t.

School had dismissed for the Thanksgiving holidays, so my wife and I decided to take our two oldest grandboys to a national historic site in Ninety Six, South Carolina. We took along a double-seat stroller. Although both boys are old enough to walk, the trail is more than a mile long.

Having perfectionist tendencies like his mom and pop, the youngest proceeded to remove all sticks he found on the walkway. Upon finding another, he yelled with excitement. So did my wife—but not with the same type of excitement.

Our grandson had discovered dog poop. Hopefully not from a visitor’s dog who let their animal do this in the middle of the walkway—but dog scat nevertheless. When my wife yelled back, he dropped the scat and gave us a confused look. Wasn’t it okay to remove sticks from the trail? My wife quickly retrieved the antibacterial wipes while explaining to him what he had picked up.

Early believers knew all about stinky days. Persecution filled theirs. In spite of their circumstances, James tells them to consider it all joy. Wise advice, yet not always easy to carry out.

I’ve lived long enough to know some days will just stink. In fact, some periods in life will stink as well. Not all stinkiness goes away in a day. I’ve walked through years that stunk. Years following a family breakup, years following financial strains and pains, and years dotted with continual physical upsets.

Perhaps God intends for us to experience stinky days that don’t result from personal sin or sin in the world. Days which test our limits . . . our faith. Days when God forces us to run to Him instead of other people and other's substances. Days which teach us lessons we can’t learn any other way. Days that stretch us beyond limits we didn’t know we had.

Considering the stinky days all joy—or being joyful in spite of the stinky days—requires a different perspective. One only God can give. A perspective wherein we believe He’s going to bring good out of the stinkiness. And He will. A perspective which clings to the fact that He loves us . . . regardless of how things appear. And He does.

Don’t let the stinky days smell up your life. Believe God has something better ahead.

Tweetable: Are the stinky days ruining your life?

Prayer: Father, when the days stink, draw us to You for comfort. 

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Pictures of the Church - Martin Wiles

I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. John 17:21 NLT

For the church to be the church, it must move into uncomfortable territory.

I’ve been in numerous churches. Older churches have common features. Constructed often of brick, they are rectangular with a steeple on top. Two or three straight rows grace the inside with a stage up front where the spiritual leader—along with the choir, sit and stand. Attached to the rectangular structure is one or more additional structures containing classrooms.

But not all churches look like the above. Some are circular and may have vinyl siding. Instead of pews, they might have chairs arranged in a half-moon shape. More and more, untraditional church structures are popping up—many in storefronts. Their outsides don’t look like the churches of old. 

The church, however, is more than a structure. It’s composed of the people who belong to it. Those who attend regularly, use their gifts and talents, and serve in Christ’s name in the community. Therein lies the rub. Getting them to do all of those things in a spirit of harmony.

Jesus must have known getting His followers to work together would be a challenge. He prayed they would be one even as He and the Father were. If they didn’t work together in harmony, His name would be spoiled—and so would the testimony of the church.

I remember a church leader who said to me, “I want there to be one place I can go where they aren’t.” The “they” were African Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr., said eleven o’clock on Sunday morning was the most segregated hour of the week. He was right. Most churches are homogenous. We flock to our own kind—the same race, the same culture, the same social standing, the same…. You fill in the blank.

Jesus wants us to be one. He didn’t create us to be separated or segregated. We are on the same journey with the same goal at the finish line. While Christ is probably proud of the great work His churches are doing, He would be prouder if we did it in a spirit of unity and togetherness. Doing so means moving out of my comfort zone, but doing so also moves me into God’s will.

Be willing to unite with other Christians to carry out God’s work. After all, we are all in this together.

Prayer: Father, unite Your people in a spirit of oneness as we carry out the great work You’ve given us to do.  

Tweetable: What are your pictures of the church? 

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Flashback Friday - What’s for Supper? - Martin Wiles

What’s for Supper?

“What’s for supper?” A question we three brothers often asked Mom, but one we also knew the answer to-“You’ll see when I get it fixed.” 

Suppers in the South are delightful, but while sumptuous, a traditional southern United States supper is almost always unhealthy. Vegetables are not just placed in a pot and boiled. Real sugar is added--as well as several tablespoons of salt and often hunks of fatty meat. Meats are rarely broiled or baked. Fried is almost synonymous with the South. And not before the meat is rolled in a mixture of egg and milk, covered in self-rising flour, and placed in a pan of hot sizzling lard. Read more...

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