Inside Perspective - October 2014
My Dear Family in Christ,
Ever precious greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ!
When I was twelve years old, my family moved from
Pennsylvania to New Jersey. At that time, my parents bought a house in Loch
Arbour, which is a very quaint beach town only two blocks wide by three blocks
long. Our home was the third house in from the beach.
It really was a wonderful place for a young man to
grow up. Back in Pennsylvania, I loved the outdoors, and was a hunter and a
freshwater fisherman. Our house in Loch Arbour was adjacent to Deal Lake which
is New Jersey’s largest coastal lake with a huge watershed that encompasses
4,400 acres. Living close to the ocean, I became a saltwater fisherman as well.
As a twelve year old boy, I was in my glory! I fished day and night, every
chance I got.
I also became an avid surfer, eventually traveling all
over chasing the elusive “perfect wave”. I surfed year-round, even in the dead
of winter. As such, our garage in the back of our house became the junk-room for
all the surfboards and fishing equipment for my buddies and me. They would call
me up in the early morning after a storm to get the wave report, because they
knew all I had to do was look out the window. My parents were very gracious and
tolerated all of our shenanigans.
After a surfing expedition the fellas and I would,
without fail, head straight for my mother's kitchen. My Mom was notorious for
her goodies and she always had tons of homemade munchies prepared for us. It was
unbelievable, everything was so delicious; I never knew what was next because
she was always cooking up a scrumptious new number! What a Mom! During my high
school years, I was shooting up like a bean-pole with a bottomless pit. I ate
like a horse and never gained a pound. Those were the days!
The problem is that when you live close to the ocean
you track sand around with you wherever you go. Like it or not, it is just the
natural consequence of the environment. In short, it used to drive my mother
crazy! We would all come straight from the beach like a herd of mad cows and
storm Mom's kitchen! Like a swarm of locusts, we devoured everything in sight.
Mom was tough but Dad was the enforcer. All Mom had to
do was say, "Philip, I am going to tell your father when he gets home." That was
it! I immediately became submissive and obedient pleading my case to Mom, all
the while seeking a reprieve of the report to my Dad.
I had gotten the belt on the behind, administered in
love, too many times in the past and had thoroughly learned that lesson. Mom
then laid down the law, everyone was to go into the basement first and all shoes
were to come off. If you did not submit, you didn't get goodies. The basement
became the "sand-room" on the way to the kitchen!
Now, all these years later, I have become my mother as
I try to keep the dirt out of my cell. Carlos and I track around dirt from work
or the recreation yard daily. We can't help it. I do the best that I can to keep
it out of the cell, but it is a daily battle. There is a little stopper made out
of a towel at the base of our door to try to keep the dirt in check. We also
take off our shoes before coming into the cell. I know that Mom is smiling even
now as she reads this and recognizes the Lord's poetic justice in it all! It's
funny how things in life come full circle.
It is written, "As we have therefore opportunity, let
us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of
faith." (Gal. 6:10)
Brother Tony Leahey spoke in church yesterday about
the “household of faith”. He shared that the "household of faith" is indeed the
church, even the Body of Christ of which we are all members in particular. He
spoke of how careful we must be as we tread by faith through this sinful world
so as not to track dirt back into the "household of faith." What a great point!
The "household of faith" is to be kept pure and
undefiled. The ''household of faith" is holy. When we track the sand and dirt
from the world back into the “household” it affects the whole Body. There is
nothing worse in my cell than waking up in the morning and putting my feet down
on a dirty, sandy floor. Even so, in the Body there is nothing worse than sin in
the household! We must therefore regularly examine ourselves so we do not track
dirt from the world back into the "household of faith" because we know that it
affects everyone.
In John 13, Jesus uses a wonderful living illustration
as He washes the disciples’ feet. Imagine that, the King washing your feet! That
is the Father's heart toward you and me. It is written, "A person who has bathed
all over, does not need to wash except for his feet to be clean all over..."
(John 13:10)
Beloved, walk holy and turn
from sin. Confess it promptly because you never know what you may be...
"TRACKING BACK INTO THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH?"
JOYFULLY IN JESUS,
LOVE PHILIP