About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2013)
PAGE 6 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013 Redeeming The Time In New Year A job applicant was invited to a luncheon where company officials could interview him. In the rush of handling the lunch crowd, the restaurant brought out the desserts with the main course. The applicant ate his dessert first. Because the applicant displayed an obvious lack of good manners and mealtime decorum, the company decided not to hire him. The opposite occurred when a group of ladies on a transatlantic passenger ship were dining together. When the dessert tray came by, they waved it off, preferring instead to listen to the orchestra music being played. This was the last dessert these ladies would ever have an opportunity to eat. You see it was April 14, 1912, and within moments, their ocean liner, the Titanic, hit an iceberg, and sank. To ensure wise use of our time in the New Year, we must not imitate the ladies aboard the Titanic who deferred their desserts. Instead, we should emulate the job applicant who ate his dessert first. The “Dessert of Life” to which I refer is a closer walk with God. Time is important to everyone. Ourdaysoneartharenumbered. Each time the sun rises and sets, our lifespan is reduced by one day. A squandered day cannot be recouped or relived. It is lost forever. Ephesians 5:16-18 urges us to redeem our time by wisely using every minute: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Jesus offered the blueprint for attaining the “Dessert of Life,” saying: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things shall be added unto you.” Its recipe includes two key ingredients: (1) “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” and (2) ‘Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” Aside from our relationship with God, the second choicest dessert involves our families. Many people are so wedded to their jobs and personal pursuits that they spend little quality time with their families. Some have a bent for creating family strife instead of family peace. Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a matter of choice. Many squander away their days on earth chasing quixotic dreams rather than helping others and seeking the kingdom of God. On Sundays, life’s dessert is found not on the golf course or mowing the grass, but in church worshipping God. Do not pass through life with your priorities disordered. Look around you for the hue desserts of life- desserts which are not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. The dessert of salvation is one for which a personal decision must be made. The time will come when we cannot make that choice. It will be too late when the Lord calls us home or Christ returns. The scripture stresses urgency in attaining salvation: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Let s Do It All Over Again I no foot oobiollTr ennrnron Timot oro rimno t/"v rmonof The fact we actually survived what we are going to repeat. another year is a tribute to somebody’s tenacity; I am not sure whose. I know the only thing that got me through the year was the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and boy is she graciously tenacious. I was sure everything would collapse and of course, several times I collapsed in my easy chair. It is a New Year, or so they tell us but I have my suspicions. After this latest episode with the Mayan’s calendar, I am not too sure what date it is or what year it is, for that matter. They certainly got everything wrong and I have my suspicions about the rest of it. How do we really know that January l is actually January l? Moreover, how do we know what year it is exactly? I think somewhere along the line somebody has pulled a scam on civilization and has messed up our calendars. If the Mayans got it wrong, maybe we have it wrong also. Whatever day and whatever year it is I am going to celebrate the New Year. If I am wrong, I have a lot of company. When we celebrate the New Year, there is nothing new about it. Everything we did last year we are going to be doing this year only we will be one year older. Perhaps as we get older we forget about what we have done and think we are doing something new. Hooray for senility! I really do not care about that; my philosophy is, let’s do it all over again. If it is worth doing the first time, it is worth doing again. This brings me to a great point, which is, some things are worth repeating while other things are not. It is trying to find out the difference between these two that makes life challenging. I do not mind repeating things if I am in charge of what I am repeating. I think we all should choose For example, I wish I could choose a year to repeat. If I could repeat any year, it would be I97l. That year represents the greatest con in the history of mankind. I am not sure anything like it has ever happened before or since. That was the year I married a young lady who turned out to be the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. What bothers me about this is why did she really marry me? Was it my charm and good looks or did she think I was rich? There have been times I have wanted to query her on this very subject but then, I am always afraid she will tell me the truth. I do not mind the truth if it does not involve anything personal. I just will settle with the fact that that was the year I conned her into marrying me. We have been a great team ever since. She has kept me straight and I have given her opportunities to exercise that career, at which she has become quite proficient. One of the great things resulting from this marriage is the fact that she has been faithful to point out my mistakes. Through her help, I discovered I have made quite a few mistakes. I begin every year with a clean slate. I am able to celebrate January l with no mistakes whatsoever, but then the next day my wife begins the ominous task of pointing out my mistakes. This is a joint effort, which leaves me out of joint often. I have a little theory along this line. I think that if it is a mistake you have made before it should not count anymore. I think the only thing that should be legitimate to point out are new mistakes. I find myself so busy practicing my old mistakes that I rarely get around to making new mistakes. All these years I have reveled Out to Pastor Rev. Janies L. Snyder jamessnyder2@att.net or whatafellowship.com in my old mistakes. Trying to find something new is a great strain on my little grey cells. At this point in my life, they are exhausted and are encouraging me to rely upon those old mistakes and give them a well- deserved rest. At my stage in life I think new is overrated and, if experience is anything, something new is always taxing and in more ways than one. Do not let the government find out that you have something new or Uncle Sam will come knocking at your door with a gentle request for tax money. There is an old saying that says insanity is doing the same things over and over expecting different results. Well, that does not describe me. I do not want different results. I like the results I have. I like doing the same thing over again because I know what to expect. And if ignorance in this area is bliss, I am the most blissful person on the planet. My challenge this year is to surprise my wife with some unexpected new mistakes. Just one! To get on the right track for the New Year, I start with the Bible. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV). Instead of celebrating the New Year, I plan to celebrate that “new creature” in Christ. No mistake about it. McLeighton Funeral Service View Obituaries at www.mcleightonfuneralservice.com 375 S. Dugger Avenue Roberta, Georgia 478-836-3336 David & Donna McLeighton - owners ’Our Family Serving Your Family Cfiurcfi Happenings Prayer Line, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Christ Abundant Life Ministries, S. Dugger Ave., Roberta. Call 478- 836-3912. Word of God Tabernacle invites you to join us for the following weekly services: Sunday Prayer at 9:00 a.m., Sunday School at 10:00 a.m., Sunday Service at 11:00 a.m.; Monday Prayer at 9:00 a.m.; Wednesday Prayer at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.; Friday Prayer at 9:00 a.m. Everyone is invited. Pastor Frank Martin, Sr. Springhill Baptist Church is providing free Tutoring Service every Monday at 5:30- 6:30 p.m. 71 Springhill Church Rd. Roberta. December 17th will be the last session before the holidays and sessions will resume January 7th. the 1st Sunday in January (1-6-13). The guest speaker will be Cynthis Howard. Dinner will be served. Evangelist Mary Ross presents a New Year 2013 Gospel Celebration featuring: Mrs. Lula May Riley, Evangelist Del Turner & Chosen Ones, LeRoy Little, Men of Faith, New Sincere, Stars of Faith, New Believers, God Property, and Evangelist Mary Ross & Voices of Praise. January 5th at 5:00 p.m. at the Association Center in Butler, GA. Refreshments will be served. ”Yes it’s free! And you don’t wany to miss it!” For more info call 478- 286-1965. Pineview will be celebrating Pastor W.C. Graddick’s anniversary on Deadline for Church Happenings: Friday 5pm Crawford County Masonic Lodge January 8,2013 6:00 p.m. CC Masonic Lodge will feature Wesley Jones, Method ist preacher from Reynolds Methodist Church and Crowell Church. He will be showing a video on his trip to the Holy Land. BBQ Dinner will be served at 6:00 p.m. Crawford Masonic Lodge 689 Free Public Invited RSVP by Calling J.D. Argo at 478-954-0736 Featured Artist Anne Touchton * Paintings- Jewelry- Hand Painted Gourds- -Quilts -Antiques- -Hand-sewn gifts & Embroidery We Now Conduct Estate Sales!! 478-836-5115 or 837-0723 HOURS: Tuesday - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Saturday -10 a.m. - 3 p.m. v y Granite • Marble • Bronze • Coping • Monument Cleaning • Sandblasting ”Serving all Middle Georgia cemeteries 33 Kade £. Rooks 2 O. Box 1711, Fort Valley, GA 31030 *478-825-2424 or 478-951-1571 *Fax: 478-825-3794
