I know I said, “Grandfather’s” toolbox instead of some other name, but that is because I am a grandfather, but whatever you are, – a grandmother, aunt, uncle, or just friend, we all need a toolbox of stories and lessons we collect to save for just the right moment. Those stories become our “words fitly spoken” that are “like apples of gold in settings of silver.” (Proverbs 25:11). It becomes that wise story you can tell at just the right time.

We all need that toolbox, but how do we get them? The answer is that we collect them. We write them to ourselves. We store them for just the right time. Just the other day I told my son to write his stories down. I now say that to all of you. Write them down. One of the biggest lies that we tell ourselves is “I don’t need to write it down. I will remember.” Write down, not only your stories but also those you hear from others.

Each Wednesday, I will share one of mine for you to put into your toolbox. 

Today’s story is called “Doomed”

A bunch of really smart people got together in 1880 to predict the future, according to Jeff Stibel in his book Breakpoint. These experts were called on to predict how the rapidly growing New York City would manage into the next century and beyond.

The prognosis was not positive.

NYC was a major source of American innovation in 1880. Skyscrapers, subways, stock exchanges — and it was doubling in size every 10 years. The experts were concerned by this growth, because they projected that by 1980, you’d need six million horses to transport everyone who would live there.

Well, that is one little story I collected along the way. Why don’t you send me one of yours?

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture study for today is Luke 12:39-40

It reads, “‘But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.'”

The Spider and the Bug

Unknown Author

There was once a spider who lived in a cornfield. He was a big spider and he had spun a beautiful web between the corn stalks. He got fat eating all the bugs that would get caught in his web. He liked his home and planned to stay there for the rest of his life.

One day the spider caught a little bug in his web, and just as the spider was about to eat him, the bug said, “If you let me go I will tell you something important that will save your life.” The spider paused for a moment and listened because he was amused. “You better get out of this cornfield,” the little bug said, “The harvest is coming!”

The spider smiled and said, “What is this harvest you are talking about? I think you are just telling me a story.” But the little bug said, “Oh no, it is true. The owner of this field is coming to harvest it soon. All the stalks will be knocked down and the corn will be gathered up. You will be killed by the giant machines if you stay here.”

The spider said, “I don’t believe in harvests and giant machines that knock down corn stalks. How can you prove this?” The little bug continued, “Just look at the corn. See how it is planted in rows? It proves this field was created by an intelligent designer.”

The spider laughed and mockingly said, “This field has evolved and has nothing to do with a creator. Corn always grows that way.” The bug went on to explain, “Oh no. This field belongs to the owner who planted it, and the harvest is coming soon.” The spider grinned and said to the little bug, “I don’t believe you,” and then the spider ate the little bug for lunch.

A few days later, the spider was laughing about the story the little bug had told him. He thought to himself, “A harvest! What a silly idea. I have lived here all of my life and nothing has ever disturbed me. I have been here since these stalks were just a foot off the ground, and I’ll be here for the rest of my life, because nothing is ever going to change in this field. Life is good, and I have it made.”

The next day was a beautiful sunny day in the cornfield. The sky above was clear and there was no wind at all. That afternoon as the spider was about to take a nap, he noticed some thick dusty clouds moving toward him. He could hear the roar of a great engine and he said to himself, “I wonder what that could be?”

There were 5,000 men to feed. The disciples had no food and were at a loss about how to handle the big problem. 

Peter explained, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9)

Such a little amount seemed unimportant to the disciples. The feeling of the disciples is among us today. We look around and see the little that we have and think we are helpless. We have only a little talent. We only have a little money. We only have a little time. If only we had more we could do something.

God warned the Jews not to despise “the day of small things.” (Zechariah 4:10)  Small things sometimes make big differences.

There is a true story of a man who got up one morning and put on a new pair of shoes. On the way to work he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at the store to by a Band-Aid. The little stop made him late. It was the morning of September 11, 2001 and he worked at the World Trade Center. He is alive today because of a little thing.

In a circular called “Little Things” several more stories like this are revealed around September 11.

“The head of one company got in late that day because his son started kindergarten. Another fellow is alive because it was his turn to bring doughnuts. One woman was late because her alarm clock didn’t go off in time. One’s car wouldn’t start. One had a child that dawdled and didn’t get ready as soon as he should have.” All these people lived because of the effect of “little things.”

Little things make big differences. A little prayer time each day, a little time in the Word, a little giving, a little kindness, all these make you a great person. Everything starts with something little, but often ends in something big. With God’s help, the little boy and the five little loaves of barley bread and two little fish were able to feed 5,000 men plus women and children.

Do something little today. It will be huge tomorrow.

~Lonnie Davis

March 13, 2011

Our Bible question for this week is, What does the Bible say about how old the earth is?

I am reminded of the guide who worked in the Carlsbad Caverns. Someone asked him how old the caverns were. He replied that they were 20 million and 15 days old. When he was asked how he could be so specific, he explained, “When I first started working here they told me they were 20 million years old. That was 15 days ago. Now they are 20 million and 15 days old.”

That is a cute story, but no one really knows.

Some have estimated it to be around 4.54 billion years old. This age has been determined through various scientific methods. For example, if the nearest star(other than our Sun) is 4.24 light-years away from us, then since we can see its light then it must have taken more than 4 years to get here. Some stars are billions of light-years away so the universe must be at least that old.

Some also 

Some Bible students believe that the Earth is around 6,000 to 10,000 years old. They base this on a literal interpretation of the Bible’s genealogies and the belief in a six-day creation. This view is often referred to as young earth creationism.

There are 2 things to consider when looking at these two views.

1. God could have made the earth and all the stars with the appearance of being old. People will ask, “When God created Adam and he was only 3 days old, how old did he look?” the Bible presents Adam as being created as a grown man. Could God have done this? Yes. Did God do this? Nobody knows for sure.

2. Could our universe be billions of years old/ Yes. Those who believe that the Bible teaches a 6,000-year-old earth do not take account of Genesis 1. 

Verse 1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The next verse says, “Now the earth was formless and empty…” How much time passed between verse 1 and verse 2? The Bible does not say. Could it have been one hour? I don’t know. Could it have been 5 billion years? No one knows.

So finally, how old is the earth? It is not important. That God created it is the important issue.

Lonnie Davis

Good morning. Today I want to share an old story with you that I find humorous and instructive. It is called

Pulling Together

An out-of-towner drove his car into a ditch in a desolated area. Luckily, a local farmer came to help with his big strong horse, named Buddy. He hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, “Pull, Nellie, pull!” Buddy didn’t move.

Then the farmer hollered, “Pull, Buster, pull!” Buddy didn’t respond. Once more the farmer commanded, “Pull, Coco, pull!”

Nothing.

Then the farmer nonchalantly said, “Pull, Buddy, pull!” And the horse easily dragged the car out of the ditch.

The motorist was most appreciative and very curious. He asked the farmer why he called his horse by the wrong name three times.

The farmer said, “Oh, Buddy is blind and if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn’t even try.”

I love the words of the song, “I get by with a little help from my friends.”  Don’t we all?

I think s  his illustrates the meaning of Hebrews 10:24

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,”  

Lonnie Davis

In today’s note we will consider two great reasons for prayer.

Not too long ago I read a great truth about prayer. It read, “Prayer is the language of faith.”

You wouldn’t like it if I wrote, “If you don’t pray, you don’t have faith.” If I wrote that, you may even stop reading. So, I won’t say that. I will instead write, “If you have faith, you will pray.”

I’m not saying that faith will lead you to pray three times a day while facing Jerusalem, as Daniel did. I’m not even saying you will pray on your knees for one hour every day. Everyone’s prayer routine look different. Certainly, everyone’s spontaneous prayer is different. Where and how long you pray does not matter, but if you have faith, you will pray.

It is natural.

God is your Father and you are his child. Fathers and children speak to each other.

It is natural.

Here are two reasons we pray.

#1. In prayer you build a relationship with your Father. Of course there are some sons and daughters who never speak or have not spoken to their earthly father. That is sad. I know because I never got to speak to my earthly father. We build our relationship with the Father by talking with Him in prayer.

#2. You have needs that only the Father can fill. If you can help your chlld, you want to do so. Your Father can help and he want to do so. No matter what is going on, He can help.

Let’s close this with a relevant scripture.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you “- 1 Peter 5:7

Lonnie Davis

Once upon a time, a rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was horrified to discover that it was a rat trap. 

Retreating to the farmyard the rat proclaimed the warning; “There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The rat turned to the pig and told him, “There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!”

“I am so very sorry Mr. Rat,” sympathized the pig, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers.”

The rat turned to the cow. The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Rat, a rat trap! I am in grave danger. Duh?”

So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s rat trap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rat trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.

She returned home with a fever. Everyone knows that you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.

His wife’s sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer’s wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when there is a rat trap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk.

– Anon

Today’s  SPIRITUAL TOOL. – Romans 10:17

No workman tackles a task without the proper tools in his or her toolbox. If you would be spiritual in your journey to eternity, then collect the proper tools for your task. Today’s scripture belongs in your spiritual toolbox.

Romans 10:17

Before we read today’s text, let’s look at a time when even the apostles cried out for this verse.

Luke 17:5-6

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

What did the apostles ask Jesus to do? They asked him to increase their faith. That is what we all want to do, but Jesus’ answer does not tell them HOW to increase faith. It assures them that faith can grow. Again we say with the apostle, Yes, but HOW.

Our text today answers that HOW.

Romans 10:17

So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The meaning of this verse is so clear that it is easy to understand regardless of the translation one uses. For example, here is how the NIV translates it. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

A person does not increase or grow in their faith because of some event in their life. It is not increased because of an automobile wreck or a health scare. These things remind you of the need for faith, but according to this verse, one grows faith as one reads and hears the word of God. 

Do you want to increase your faith? Then, increase the time you spend reading and hearing the word of God.

This verse is a great tool for you to have because you need to use it to grow your own faith and to help those around you grow their faith.

Lonnie Davis

Too many times I have heard a sad person say, “I can’t help how I feel.”

Sure you can!

I learned better during a particularly hard time in my life. I was driving 30 miles every morning, in heavy traffic, to a job I did not want to do. As I drove I thought of the bad things in my life. By the time I would get to work I would have a terrible case of discouragement or a sad heart or even depression. 

As I was driving, one morning the solution to my recurring sad heart came to me. I realized I was not discouraged because of the bad things that happened, but because of what I was doing at the moment. This point is so important that I have to say it again.  I realized I was not discouraged because of the bad things that happened, but because of what I was doing at the moment. What was I doing at the moment? I was reliving the old negative events!

Once I understood this profound thought I was able to overcome the problem. The way to stop my daily discouragement was to change what I allowed myself to think. Whenever I would catch myself ruminating on the negative things in life, I would purposefully and quickly change the subject of my thinking. Let’s hear that again. I would purposefully and quickly change the subject of my thinking. 

When I stopped thinking about negative things, I quit being discouraged. 

We are what we think about!

Paul wrote, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things…And the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil 4:8-9)

Surely there is something noble, something pure, something lovely in your life. Think about those things and they will crowd out the negative, sad thoughts. When you control what you think about, you will control how you feel. If you make yourself think about the good things, you will make your day better. 

You will make your life better.

Lonnie Davis

It’s Saturday and each Saturday I am going to be writing and answering a Bible question. Today’s question is one that many Bible students ask.

What is the difference between man’s soul and his spirit? 

It has long been said that man has three parts: (1) Soul. (2) Spirit and (3) Body. It is easy to understand the body of man. We see it, but what is the difference between the soul and the spirit? 

Answer: Hebrew 4:12 certainly teaches that there is a difference. It reads,

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Here are my thoughts: There is no Scripture that clearly teaches the difference, but I believe that the soul is the eternal part of man that is created at birth or even conception. The spirit, however, refers to a person’s mental or emotional state, such as their will, determination, or enthusiasm. 

If someone disagrees with this, I will just say that this seems likely to me, but even though I have studied this, I am open to further study.

If you have a Bible question you would like to see discussed, send it to me and we will look at it.

Lonnie Davis