Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Wednesday November 30, 2011

Years ago I went Dove hunting in the mountains of Virginia. As we returned from the hunt a dear friend, who has walked on, commented on my Dove shooting ability. He did so in such a grand and colorful way that I have remembered it all these years. He said, "Preacher if all the pockets of air you shot down today were put in balloons you could fly to the moon." My bag for Doves was empty. For years afterward he would comment if he knew I was going hunting; "We better be careful today, the oxygen level is going to be low."

I made the above comments because I have been sitting at the computer staring at a blank screen at 3:30 AM having missed my evening deadline. Finally at least a thought based on a past experience arrived at the brain station. I know it's an old station and the tracks to it are worn, but nevertheless old worn out ideas arrive and once in a great while a timeless statement makes entry into the conscious gate.

In line with the opening statement I offer a comment on life from the Prince of Preachers of another era on Psalms 39:11 "When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah." Our modern phrase would be something like, "I let the air out of him."

On "Surely everyman is vanity" in his Treasury of David Spurgeon stated, "A curious picture of nothing." As this word picture was painted in the late 1800's it is obvious that the preacher was on the leading edge of Modern Art and this may be the Crown Jewel of the genre.

In the Christian Realm the truth is that we who believe are full of hot air or the Holy Spirit or a mix of the two. The ideal is to be controlled by the Spirit, but as you probably know ideals are wonderful ideas.

The verse vividly paints the result of being filled with hot air, as the ego cannot stand any correction, while a person controlled by the Spirit welcomes the correction/teaching of the Spirit via the Word, person, even a burning bush as God chooses. One of the most tormenting truths of my life is the accurate corrections The Spirit has given to me via my wife, Joyce, who goes by the pseudonym, The Great Blonde.

Even though Joyce is as skilled as a brain surgeon from Johns Hopkins when she uses the scalpel of truth to remove an error in my life or more important and thus more agonizing a sermon, she does so as if she were removing the detonator from a nuclear bomb. She has learned over the years that suddenly released hot air can make a lot of noise.

Hot air when released usually just makes a noise of complaint or explodes while the Holy Spirit when released is a blessing to the recipients. As David said, "Selah."

Larry Lilly Copyright (C) 2011 Use with Credit
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http://larrylilly.com/bookinfo2.aspx

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