May 29, 2024 — The Dollar Spot Devotions

Slinky – Even Fun Has Its Ups and Downs!

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die;for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.  They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”  He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”  He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” Genesis 3:1-11

“It’s Slinky; it’s Slinky.  For fun it’s a wonderful toy.

What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkety sound?

A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing!  Everyone knows it’s Slinky.

It’s Slinky; it’s Slinky.  For fun it’s a wonderful toy.

It’s fun for a girl and a boy.”

I can hear that commercial in my head, and I haven’t heard it for thirty years or more. The slinky is still sold in the Dollar Spot section of my favorite store – unbelievable but true. I must say that the times I remember playing with a slinky, it did not last for hours and hours. And, with animals in the house, they usually became chew toys, getting so twisted that they never would slink anywhere.

We know from the creation story, and from the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve that the snake was a creature created by G-d, along with all of the other creatures. Eve, Adam and the snake are creatures created by G-d, and they are all created and looked upon as “good”. And yet, they all turn out to become rebellious and turn against G-d – at least G-d’s plans for the goodness of creation. For you see, all creatures created by G-d are placed into the garden to be close to G-d – and to be within the influence of G-d. But all good things can also become bad, disobedient, if not downright evil. It is that reason alone that makes me rethink the whole interaction between Eve, Adam and the snake. We come to this story thinking that Adam and Eve have this relationship with G-d, and so therefore have more “reasoning ability” than the other creatures. But the snake seems to have them beat on the “reason and intelligence” scales. The snake seems more able to reason, to influence, to control, and to deceive. Is the snake the embodiment of evil, or a representation of how intelligence can be turned inward to become selfish and controlling?  

It begs the question, “Is human reasoning the enemy of obedience?” What is human reasoning after all? It is looking at things from the human perspective—consciously or unconsciously – and in the process leaving G-d out of the picture. Reasoning is trying to figure out spiritual things on our own. It is looking at the trials of this life with just our physical senses—without “seeing” the unseen hand of G-d at work in our lives.  Human reasoning can even assume that G-d sees things as we see them. 

Faith, on the other hand, means that we rely on G-d, the one we have not seen (unlike Adam and Eve), and rely on G-d’s nature and plan for all people, which are revealed in Scripture. Without the Holy Spirit, the human mind cannot grasp that level of thinking. That’s why it takes faith to believe what G-d says and does – and not allow evil to slink into our thoughts, our ideas, and our faith – at least in the manner of our own perceptions if they are found to be against G-d’s will.

Look, this life will not always be as fun as a slinky – but our trust, faith and obedience to G-d will help us to ride the ups and downs of life.

Pastor Dave

May 30, 2024 — The Dollar Spot Devotions

Pop-Up Speakers – Can You Hear Me Now?

“and he (Jesus) came down with them, and stood on a level place, and a great multitude of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judaea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; and they that were troubled with unclean spirits were healed. And all the multitude sought to touch him; for power came forth from him, and healed [them] all.  And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said…”  Luke 6:17-20

As we acquire more and more devices, we have also been offered more and more accessories to go along with these devices. And since the devices seem to get smaller and smaller, there is a need for assistance in hearing them, especially if we want to use them to play music and we have no headphones.  Thus, as I was looking around my Dollar Spot section, I noticed “Pop-Up Speakers”. These speakers are about the size of a small tomato, but when you extend them about an inch, and plug them into your phone or other device, you get a “Big Sound” as the advertisers would want us to think.

Did you ever wonder how people heard Jesus when he delivered a sermon on a mountain (Matthew 5) or in a boat (Luke 5)? I have always wondered how he did it. Were there people placed it the crowd who would repeat what Jesus said so those in the back could hear? Did he speak in places where the sound naturally would have been projected out to the crowd? There is no way to know for sure, but the people flocked around him to listen to what he had to say, and somehow everyone heard it. 

Today, the problem is not having the technology to get the sound of G-d’s word out, it is the fact that too few people want to speak it. If we are not proclaiming from the rooftops the words G-d wants us to say, then who will?  G-d is looking for people who will serve as the “Pop-Up” speakers in our communities today. Are you ready?

Pastor Dave

May 27, 2024 — The Dollar Spot Devotions

Cheap Car Chargers

“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, but the boat was already far from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.… Matthew 14:22-24

We have become so dependent upon our electronic devices that we always need to have a charger at hand, because we cannot survive if they happen to lose power. It is a fact that once a week, in my home, someone is looking for a phone charger that they have either lost or someone has borrowed. It is a constant search. The truth of the matter is that we have lost so many chargers that we will find the cheapest one to buy because we are always buying a new one. And so, I was thrilled to spy a cheap charger in the Dollar Spot section the other day. The real hidden truth that bugs me is the fact that the manufacturers of these devices keep changing them, in small annoying ways, requiring us to constantly be buying new chargers. In fact I have two baskets full of chargers that no longer have a device to go with them.

So, my children have often ask “What did people do in the “olden days” when they didn’t have the electronic devices we have to keep us entertained?” Well, we found other ways to entertain ourselves. We played board games, played card games, watched movies, and actually talked to one another. Did you know that there is now an “APP” you can put on your phone to remind you to talk or play with your kids every so often? That is a sad commentary on our lives, yes?

So, what did Jesus do to recharge his batteries, so to speak? He usually found a quiet place to pray. He went up the mountain, or in the garden and started texting with G-d – that is texting the old-fashioned way – through prayer.  Just like our devices always need recharging, well my friends, so do we. We need time to recharge our faith batteries by going to G-d in quiet, thoughtful and un-interrupted prayer. Try it sometime – no, better yet, try it often. 

Pastor Dave

May 28, 2024 — The Dollar Spot Devotions

A Fitness Belt – Where do I Keep My Stuff While I Run?

^“Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

Being a jogger myself, I have known the problem of trying to decide what to do with my phone, my keys, and other stuff while I am running. The problem has become even more of a concern since there has been the advent of so many devices that we can use while we run. Some people drive their cars to a track to run, or to an area that has more challenges like hills, etc. That means there is the need to have some kind of pouch or belt to keep your keys. The fitness belt that I spied in the Dollar Spot section of my favorite store is just one of those helpers. Some of these belts even have a spot to fit a water bottle, for the jogger who is going on the extra-long run.

The endurance that is necessary for the Christian journey is compared to a race. And in some places it is also tagged with a sense of real urgency. When Jesus says “Let the dead bury the dead, you go proclaim the kingdom of G-d” he is talking about that urgency. Not only are we to persevere, we are to run with all our might, and we are to do it now, without concern for any other priorities. And what are we to take for that journey? Nothing – not a belt, not an extra set of jogging shoes or clothes, nothing. 

There is a message here that is difficult for most Americans to hear, and that message is un-encumbrance. There is nothing that is to hinder us, to distract us, or to impede us. And we have a lot of things in this country that we have been told that we cannot do without – a lot of stuff that we are constantly told we need to survive. If we are to follow Jesus the way that G-d intends, then we have to shed a lot of stuff – and that makes most of us nervous.  But, in the end, what will become of that stuff? We won’t know because we will have met our ultimate demise and others will be dividing our stuff. So, instead of concerning ourselves with stuff, Jesus says concern yourselves with the kingdom of G-d. That, my friends, will take a lot of thought, prayer, and devotion – maybe even a lifetime of devotion….but this journey has a great reward at the end.Pastor Dave