This weekend is Kool April Nights (Redding’s version of Reno’s Hot August Nights) which celebrates classic cars of all kinds. It actually went all week, with Show-and-Shines and family-friendly events throughout the week, a cruise last night, and then the featured car show this weekend.

It draws quite a crowd—car lovers and the curious alike.

I am amazed at the vision and dedication some people have and the investment they are willing to put forth to restore these vehicles. They purposefully search for an old scrap of a car that they can bring back to its earlier glory. A few add some modern twists and touches to them, but most try to stay true to the car’s history.

Everyone who attends enjoys talking to the owners, hearing the story of the car, and admiring the beautiful result.

My brother and his wife do something similar. They rent a section at a local antique mall and supply it with treasures they have found languishing in thrift stores. My brother does his research, so he knows the value of items others might overlook or just see as junk. He buys them and places them in a more appropriate venue.

This week’s car show gave me reason to think. If we place this much value on old possessions, how much more should we give to our older generation. The American culture is focused on youth—looking young, trying to stay young—so much so that the value of our older citizens is not only often overlooked but too many times dismissed as irrelevant as well.

But the Bible reminds us not only to take care of our elderly, but also to value and respect them for they provide a wealth of history and wisdom. Just listen.

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. (Deuteronomy 32:7)

Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.  (Proverbs 23:22)

Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.  (Leviticus 19:32)

Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?  (Job 12:12)

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.  Proverbs 16:31)

So whether in your own family or your church family, take time to get to know the history and appreciate the wisdom of our human “classics.” Our lives will be richer for it.

(Photo taken by Janice Millar)

“You can’t plow a field simply by turning it over in your mind.”  Gordon B. Hinckley

Don’t you wish, though.

Whether it’s that to-do list that needs to be tackled or the project that needs to be started or that dream that we wish to accomplish, if all we had to do was think about it, we would be superstars.




But nothing is ever accomplished by just dreaming. At some point we must do.

We have all met our share of dreamers . . . those individuals who talk about their big plans and goals yet never take any steps toward fulfilling them.

And that is the simple key. One step.

The familiar Chinese proverb reminds us that “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

My favorite philosopher of all time, Mark Twain, wrote, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

It’s funny that Newton’s first law of motion both explains the problem and provides the solution. The principle of Inertia reads: “an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless an external force acts upon it. Similarly, if the object is at rest, it will remain at rest unless an unbalanced force acts upon it.”

Sometimes the hardest part of getting started is getting started.

The same holds true in our spiritual life.

We want to read the Bible more? We need to open it and read a verse.

We want to reach out to others? Just start by making a phone call or sending a text.

We want to pray more? We need take a moment and do it.

We have all kinds of reasons or justifications why we haven’t started, which really are nothing more than excuses.

Let me leave you with a few more quotes — that unbalanced force — that just might get you moving.

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” ~ Arthur Ashe

“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘’just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” ~ Napoleon Hill

“If you can’t rent a backhoe, buy a shovel.” ~ Unknown

“Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” ~ Chinese Proverb

I have a friend whose mantra is “no coincidences.”

I know that even before God created man, He knew man would sin, so He already had a plan of redemption in place. I just never thought that there was more to it than that. Until last Sunday.

As you know, last Sunday was Easter, and as the sermon began, I was reminded that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection were at the time of the Jewish Passover—that remembrance celebration of Israel’s deliverance out of bondage from Egypt—when the Lord passed through all of Egypt killing every first-born male of man and cattle.

BUT . . .

The Israelites were told to kill a lamb and apply its blood to the sides and tops of the door frames and then hunker down for the night. After midnight, when the Lord passed through the land of Egypt to kill the firstborn, He would “passover” those homes with the blood. The blood sacrifice would save them and Egypt, crushed by the death of their first-borns, would demand Israel leave.

So it made sense that Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection would be at the time of the Jewish Passover, for just as blood delivered one nation, Christ’s blood offered deliverance from bondage for an entire world for all eternity for everyone who accepted that blood sacrifice.

BUT . . .

I hadn’t quite realized why Passover was when it was—until I remembered that there are “no coincidences.”

Passover is always in the spring,—during the Jewish month of Nisan, and Spring is considered the season of rebirth—for that is exactly what Easter celebrates—our new lives in Christ because of what Christ did. We are a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

It shouldn't surprise me that the God who breathed us into existence, knew of our rebellion, created the seasons, and planned our redemption would do so so perfectly.

My Amish perpetual calendar had this saying on March 23: “Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.”

It certainly is, but Spring is also a reminder of what He can do with soiled and sinful souls.

That individual is a little too charismatic for my taste. Histrionics. All for show.

I don’t want to be in that Bible study group. The leader seems rather stand-offish.

Yes, I have a very bad (but human) habit of forming conclusions and passing judgment on individuals I don’t know based simply on impressions.

Well, God has a way of taking care of that.

On the first night of Bible study where do I find myself? Yup! You guessed it. In said leader’s group and sitting right next to charismatic worship team member. (I didn’t even know she went to evening Bible study!)

Conclusion?

God has a sense of humor. I don’t know why this should surprise me. We have one (or most of us do), and we are made in God’s image.

But whereas our sense of humor is usually 1) to draw attention to ourselves in a positive way (see how clever we are?) or 2) to subtly couch our criticisms, God’s uses humor to further our spiritual growth.

The irony of where I was sitting was not lost on me, and you know what? That leader was fantastic: kind, compassionate, knowledgeable. And that over-the-top worshiper? Her passion and love for Christ gave me pause to reconsider my own relationship with Jesus. For though it is not necessary to express ourselves in the same way, we are called to examine ourselves (I John 1:8; 2 Cor. 13:5).

Tough there are many ways God could have chosen to correct my wayward attitude, I am grateful He chose the route of humbling humor.

These past two weeks I have shared with you what Paul tells the Philippians (and us) not to say and then that he reminds us that we are to be a light in the darkness displaying the attributes of Christ.

But how do we do that? What is the key?

Well . . . shocker . . . it has nothing to do with our abilities.

Rather it has everything to do with our surrender. And this reminded me of a hymn I loved to sing growing up . . . probably because I didn’t fully understand the weight of the words. But the message is clear. To live a life reflecting the attributes of Christ—the fruit of the Holy Spirit—requires total surrender and constant communion with Jesus.

I hope the words inspire you as much as they did me.