We are here now to ask You to help us to do what is right.

We can find the direction if You’ll simply show us the light.

       Our sadness, our heartache, our suff’ring, our loss,

       Could not be as much as You gave on the cross.

   Ev’ryone needs You, and ev’ry one needs to be saved.

     - From "For All The Right Reasons"

    © 2005 by Jeffrey Robert Smith

 

 Writings:

Whatever Possessed You

Life's Not Easy, Man, But It Does Have Purpose

Conviction
There's an Order to Things

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Whatever Possessed You…?

 

 

          “Keeping up with the Joneses” - that’s what they used to call it. It is a

phrase that originated over fifty years ago. But, even after the passing of so

many years, it still applies to so many people living in our modern, material

world. To look for the telltale signs of materialism in your own life, I’ve

put together the following test (inspired by a routine often performed by the comedian, Jeff Foxwothy):

 

- If you think the Golden Rule says: “He who has the gold makes the rules”,

you might be materialistic.

- If your family car has four-wheel drive, but you don’t have to drive over

desert or rocks to get to work, or to get anywhere, you might be materialistic.

- If you own or aspire to own one or more items you might use the term

“status symbol” to describe, you might be materialistic.

- If the newsman on your television screen could be labeled: “actual size”,

you might be materialistic.

- If you think that people who say: “Money can’t buy happiness”, just don’t

know where to shop, you might be materialistic.

 

 

            For those aligning with or aspiring to a materialistic lifestyle, the

requirements are the same now as they were then. Living the good life still

involves acquiring wealth and possessions expressly for the purpose of

showing others just how much of a good life you are living. The Bible has

something to say about this, in 1 John 2:15-17 (NIV):

 

           

           Do not love the world or anything in the world. If you love the world,

love for the Father is not in you. For everything in the world - the cravings

of sinful people, the lust of their eyes and their boasting about what they

have and do - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and

its desires pass away, but whoever does

the will of God lives forever.

 

 

            This is one of the more misunderstood concepts in the Bible. I remember

how, upon first hearing it, I thought I was supposed to lessen my appreciation

for the beauty of nature, and all that God had created.

 

            What is really a very simple statement, suffers from a common malady

of communication: terminology. Because the “world” in this phrase is actually

a term used to denote the human level of existence, what the Bible means, is that

we should be wary of being drawn into the cravings usually associated with this

realm. It goes on to describe three categories of concern: the lusts of the flesh;

lust for material possessions; and being desirous and boastful of one’s rank or

position. Not only are these attributes more akin to the ways of Satan, who has

dominion over the world, but pursuit of these only serves as distraction from the

preparations we should be making for the life everafter.

 

            And, you have to admit… God, the Great Provider, certainly gave His all

to provide us a better life at the conclusion of this one.

 

 

            For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that

whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 (ASV)

 

 

            Being human, and of this realm, my own efforts to follow the advice in

1 John, are now much improved over what they once were. In fact, I should

probably call this my testimony, of sorts, although it hardly compares to the

life-changing reforms made in most testimonials…

 

            I have always enjoyed motorcycling, and much of what goes with it:

The wind in your face; the bugs on your teeth (the sure indication of a happy

biker); the frostbite when  the temperature drops unexpectedly. Okay,

it’s not always good, but it has enough good moments to keep me interested.

While I also enjoy walking and bicycling; a motorcycle can more easily transport

me to scenery a greater distance away from the crowds.

            I’ve never had what other enthusiasts would consider very expensive

or even very desirable motorcycles. But humble and unassuming as one of

them was, I later realized that I might have passed the point where I was

possessing a possession, and arrived at the point where the possession was

possessing me.

 

            At the time, I was living in a part of the country where winter usually

means the riding season is over for a few months, so I had a corner of the

garage set up where the motorcycle could sit out the snows in comfort. Yes,

comfort is a good description, because I actually had an extra duct installed,

which brought heat from the house furnace to the garage wall beside the

motorcycle. I wasn’t heating the whole garage, I reasoned, just keeping

the bike from freezing.

 

            To assure myself, from time to time, that I was still the sole

possessor of my possession, I installed a security camera in the garage. At

the time, the camera seemed very appropriate, because it served another

purpose…

 

            To be sure the bike really was warm and comfy, I had mounted a

large thermometer on the wall beside it. And to read the thermometer, I aimed

a small floodlamp in the direction of the motorcycle. Now, you’re probably

wondering why I didn’t just turn on the garage ceiling light to read the

thermometer. The answer lies in two other devices I had employed to put

my mad plan into action: a remote control and a light switch that responds

to a remote control.

 

            In case you haven’t yet figured out the lengths to which a possessed

man will go to remain a prisoner of his possession, I can tell you how it

worked: In the comfort of my home, I could  turn on my television, and turn

to my own personal security channel. On this channel, I was able to see my

motorcycle, nicely illuminated in 75-watts of incandescent splendor. And,

by indication of the thermometer that was also easily viewable in the upper

left-hand corner of my television screen, I could assure myself  that my bike

was indeed sitting out the winter months in comfort.

   

            So, there’s one man’s answer to the question: “What in the world

possessed you?” I’ve come to appreciate God’s wisdom and forethought in

planning that when I make the trip into the eternal life, I will be traveling

much lighter than I did in this life.

 

            Come to think of it, I haven’t seen anything mentioned in the Bible

about Heaven having closets or basements.

 

                                                                      © by Jeffrey Robert Smith

 

 

            No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love

the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot

serve both God and Money.   Matthew 6:24 (NIV)

 

 

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Life’s Not Easy, Man, but It Does Have Purpose

               

 

       There is a song on my album, “First Things First”, about a man who is afraid of commitment. Represented in my song: “The Easy Man (a Life without Purpose)”, he believes that nothing is lost if nothing is ventured, because he lives by a policy of non-involvement and non-participation.

            I call him the “easy man” because he thinks he is going through life the easy way. He is, basically, just doing time in this world. It is very likely that he will live a very uneventful life, and will accomplish little of any importance while living it.

            If only I could have given the “easy man” more endearing qualities, but that would have muddled the point of the song. I think Alexander Pope would have shown a bit more compassion than I did, when he said: “Blessed is he who expects nothing for he shall never be disappointed". That mine is lacking, will be very evident in the following words, from the last verse of my song:

           

 

            Although that last line has often elicited some chuckles from my audiences, I can think of few things sadder to most of us than believing we are not even worthy of mention in our own obituary. Despite much evidence to the contrary, I would prefer to go on  believing that the “easy man” subscribes to a lifestyle rarely witnessed by most of us.

            All pity aside, I might ask what would cause someone to become an “easy man”? Perhaps he has no sense of purpose, and a limited vision of why he exists. Since he is not a man of strong beliefs, it follows that he probably does not believe in God. That would be a sad case, indeed. For belief in God and in His works, brings assurance of one’s purpose in life, and in one’s place in God’s design for the universe and for all that exists within it.

 

 

I used to work in a photo lab, where we processed pictures for people.

This was in the days when most cameras still produced negatives (usually 35 mm), which we would develop into photos.

 

To do this, we often used a small dark box. It took up less space than

a whole darkroom. You simply placed your hands (and some of your arms) inside to work with the roll of film. You had to know what you were doing, because only your hands could fit in there. Of course, even if you could fit your head inside the darkbox, it wouldn’t help, because it was well…dark in there.

 

One day, we had processed a bad roll of film, where all of the photos

had turned out black. I believe it was from one of those manual cameras that

needed a warning label on the back, in two-foot-tall letters, saying: “Before taking pictures, remember to open the shutter”.

 

Understandably, photos like these never make it into the family photo

album. But I couldn’t see just throwing them all away, so I put two of them up

on the lab bulletin board, and added captions.

 

Under the first black photo, I wrote: “This is the inside of a dark box

on a dark and dreary day”. Under the second black photo, I wrote: “This is the inside of a dark box on a bright and sunny day”. Next, I wrote: “...And you

thought your life was uneventful”.

 

Now, I brought this up because some of us stay in our own little dark box. Like the “easy man”, our lives might seem uneventful because we live in the dark void of a life without rhyme or reason, not understanding our place in this world, or our usefulness to others. Having a stronger faith in God;  and a better understanding of His vision and in the purpose He has designed for us, would help to restore our own vision. Without this, we will not be able to see or even recognize what we can accomplish in this world.

 

            God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 (NIV)

 

Every life has its dark moments. And every day has its dark night.

(Even Darth Vader had his dark side). But life is not supposed to be perfect.

 

            God promises a safe landing but not a calm passage. - anonymous

 

            Think of it as a learning experience. If you open your eyes, your mind, and your heart to God, you will find yourself stronger, and better prepared to move from the more difficult, but temporary phase of life on this side of heaven, to eternal life (or: “Phase Two”, as I hear it is called in God’s brochure - but I’m not sure of exactly what brochure, as I heard this from an unreliable source).

 

 

Incidentally, if you were a dark box  (although being reincarnated as a darkbox is an impossibility within the doctrines of our Christian faith) - a dark box with a positive attitude, I should say - you would realize that much can be accomplished… even in the dark.

You could proudly say that you played a very important part in turning

35 mm film of weddings, graduations, and family vacations into tangible memories to be looked at, smiled at, and proudly shared with friends and family for many years, and maybe even lifetimes to come. And you did all that from a pitch-black environment.

            If this has inspired you to think a little more on what God intended for you to accomplish during your short stay in this life, I offer the following words from my song “He Gave You a Heart”.

                So, if you’ve been thinking of your life as uneventful,  it just might be

time

to start “thinking outside of the box” (or “outside of the darkbox”).

 

            You could become a light in the darkness of someone else’s life.

 

                                                           © by Jeffrey Robert Smith

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Conviction

 

He knew it was coming  

He knew it was near;

But He still taught the lessons  

For which He was here,

So that we could see victory  

 In a life that was lost,

And know our salvation  

Was won on a cross. 

 

© 2006 by Jeffrey Robert Smith

 

 

 

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