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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"You Have To Be Connected"
July 14, 2010
She was clearly aggravated. I asked her what was wrong and my daughter
said, "My phone isn't working. I received a call from mom and it wouldn't
let me pick up and now it won't let me dial out. On top of that the screen
keeps going blank." I looked at her phone and it appeared to be in working
order.
I could appreciate her frustration. A few months ago I came home and
wanted to check my email. I couldn't get connected to the internet. I fiddled
with the wires, checked the connections and even shut everything down
three times and rebooted the whole system. Still nothing. So I broke down
and called the internet company.
After a twenty five minute wait I finally got a technician on the phone. She
asked me if I had turned everything off and rebooted the system. With pride
in my voice I told her I had done it three times and it failed to produce
anything. She then asked me if everything was properly connected. I sighed
and said I had checked but I would check again. It was at this point that I
noticed a cord sitting behind the desk that seemed to be out of place. As I
got down on my hands and knees and looked more closely I realized that
this was the cable that connects the computer to the internet jack in the
wall. I plugged it in and a miracle happened.
When I got back on the phone I told the technician what I found and how
I was now up and running. I thanked her and hung up. I felt foolish. Rule
number one in this technological age is that everything has to be hooked up
in order to work properly.
This came back to me as I pondered Rachel's problem with her phone.
When I saw her later that day I told her to take the back off the phone and
make sure the battery was securely in place. She told me she had already
done that and the phone was working perfectly again.
It is true for electronic devices and it is true for you and me too. Too
often in life we experience this frustration where things just aren't going
right. That should be a warning signal that our connection to God is loose.
When we aren't connected to God, the difficulties often multiply. When we
have a loose connection we will stutter and stumble. We may do alright for
a while but eventually we will end up disconnected and feeling powerless.
Jesus said, "Come, you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I
will give you rest." Are you feeling unplugged? Is your energy waning?
Then spend a little time with God this summer. Let him reboot you and get
you up and running again. Come to worship. Carve out some time to pray
and read the Bible. Get together with some friends and talk about spiritual
things. When you get reconnected you will find that you have more than
enough energy to live with the enthusiasm for life that God intended you to
have and so many of those problems will work themselves out. So what are
you waiting for? Get connected and start living again.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
July 14, 2010
She was clearly aggravated. I asked her what was wrong and my daughter
said, "My phone isn't working. I received a call from mom and it wouldn't
let me pick up and now it won't let me dial out. On top of that the screen
keeps going blank." I looked at her phone and it appeared to be in working
order.
I could appreciate her frustration. A few months ago I came home and
wanted to check my email. I couldn't get connected to the internet. I fiddled
with the wires, checked the connections and even shut everything down
three times and rebooted the whole system. Still nothing. So I broke down
and called the internet company.
After a twenty five minute wait I finally got a technician on the phone. She
asked me if I had turned everything off and rebooted the system. With pride
in my voice I told her I had done it three times and it failed to produce
anything. She then asked me if everything was properly connected. I sighed
and said I had checked but I would check again. It was at this point that I
noticed a cord sitting behind the desk that seemed to be out of place. As I
got down on my hands and knees and looked more closely I realized that
this was the cable that connects the computer to the internet jack in the
wall. I plugged it in and a miracle happened.
When I got back on the phone I told the technician what I found and how
I was now up and running. I thanked her and hung up. I felt foolish. Rule
number one in this technological age is that everything has to be hooked up
in order to work properly.
This came back to me as I pondered Rachel's problem with her phone.
When I saw her later that day I told her to take the back off the phone and
make sure the battery was securely in place. She told me she had already
done that and the phone was working perfectly again.
It is true for electronic devices and it is true for you and me too. Too
often in life we experience this frustration where things just aren't going
right. That should be a warning signal that our connection to God is loose.
When we aren't connected to God, the difficulties often multiply. When we
have a loose connection we will stutter and stumble. We may do alright for
a while but eventually we will end up disconnected and feeling powerless.
Jesus said, "Come, you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I
will give you rest." Are you feeling unplugged? Is your energy waning?
Then spend a little time with God this summer. Let him reboot you and get
you up and running again. Come to worship. Carve out some time to pray
and read the Bible. Get together with some friends and talk about spiritual
things. When you get reconnected you will find that you have more than
enough energy to live with the enthusiasm for life that God intended you to
have and so many of those problems will work themselves out. So what are
you waiting for? Get connected and start living again.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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