the Mobile Man-Cave

I have wanted to buy
a car for some months now.  With school
starting up, and the weather beginning to introduce temperatures that make
motorcycle riding less than ideal, I knew it was time.  As with so many decisions in life, I would need
to make a list of what I really want, what I can get by with, and what I can
actually afford.

After the debilitating
depression I felt after throwing the first list in the trash, I was ready to
get down to business.  Economy cars that actually
have tires and engines are not all that common these days, and those that are
cost too much.  I entertained the notion
that maybe it was time to allow myself the heady pleasure of a “new car smell”,
but after a marathon session at the dealer, I had to admit that it was probably
a stretch to insist on no side windows and plastic tires instead of rubber.

And what COULD I actually live with and eventually be happy
driving?  An engine with muscle would be
nice, but they usually don’t get very good gas mileage.  Would it be worth owning a gas-guzzler, just
so I could take the Universalist pastor at the green light?  Leather seating would be a treat.  It’s unbecoming to arrive at someone’s house
for a visit looking like you’ve been shrink-wrapped with wet cotton cloth.  I have also thought a hatchback would be
nice.  Trunks are ok, but there’s just
something about folding down the rear seats, opening up the hatch, and loading
a lawnmower or four children into the back.  Being a multi-faceted Pastor who leads a busy
life, I could probably even hold a lawnmower, AND four children!  Don’t worry, I would bungee-cord all cargo.

But I have discovered that there’s something to be said for
just letting God lead me to the car that makes the most sense for me in the pricing
area, the dependability area, the economy area, the trust–the-guy-selling-it-to-me
area, and last but not least, the accoutrement area.  That’s right:
Accoutrement.  From the French,
meaning “That which is suited to the taste of a coot”.

Some might say the car I settled on is something kind of senior-citizenish.  Fine, but I have come to realize that its
various old-fashioned charms are actually best described as a mobile man-cave.   Looking around from my sunken, spring-loaded
cloth perch at the interior, with its rounded dash and expansive room; not to
mention the tiny, crevice-like instrumentation, I realize that this resembles a
cave on wheels.  I guess the car-interior
mavens who planned the 1997, felt that Americans were livin’ large; free-wheeling
and inspired by their limitless potential!
I remember 1997 as the year my son was born and the year I collected a
record number of bottles on the side of the road.

But now my situation
has changed.  Being a Pastor does bring
with it certain unforeseen mini-blessings.
Now I can relax and feel like even though I’m on my way to the hospital
or a meeting, I’m out of the office, and  not at home with obnoxious noises.  I’m out  in a special zone where I am free to glide
along in my cave, relishing the personal space, stoking my fire if needed;
letting in more drafts if desired.  I can
even reach back to my mini-fridge and grab a Dr. Pepper.  And for entertainment, if I tire of hearing the
yesteryear melodrama of West Paris, or the cacophony of Norway’s mean streets,
I can roll up the window, reach under the dash and pull out a rolling drawer of
approximately 257 cassette tapes.  All
alphabetized of course for safety’s sake.   And the CONCERT SOUND II speakers lead you to
believe you are enjoying the acoustics of a well-rounded cave.

But I am in ministry.
I have places to go; people to see.
There will be kids to pick up and dump runs for senior saints to be made.  And I am ready.  I stand ready to open my cave to those who
need a place to go; to those who need to dispose of their unwanted stuff.  I have no doubt that I can pack ten to twelve
children into the mobile man-cave.  I may
be able to transport as much as 1.7 metric tons of trash to the transfer
station -after I get my sticker, of course.   And if there is someone who decides to criticize
my sermon or cause trouble in the congregation, a hog-tied ride in the mobile man-cave
rear chamber should cure them of their devilry.

Yup, I’m all set.  God
has led me to the right car.  And God can
take care of your concerns, too.  All that
is needed is patience and the solid conviction that He knows best what you need
and that He will supply it.  Well, I’ve
got to sign off for now and go finish cleaning out the cave.  A Pastor’s work is never done.    PScott

Pastor Scott is
pastor of West Paris Baptist Church and North Paris Federated Church.  He drives a ’97 Buick LeSabre and collects
cassette tapes.  He can be reached at
376-6854.  On some occasions you may have
to adjust your phone as there is a distinct echo.

Spirit Builds a Tower

America the beautiful, America the compassionate, America
the free, America the home of millions of  Christians was attacked ten years ago by an
enemy it didn’t really know:  Radical
Islam.

That  unprovoked
attack upon our country  causes us to
remember its victims today, on its anniversary.
It was an attack that sought to do as much or more damage to the spirit
and psyche of Americans as to Americans themselves.  Close to 3000 people were killed in the
towers of the World Trade Center, on a crashed jet in Pennsylvania, and at the
Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.  Many firefighters
and police officers were killed.

We have learned many things in these ten years. We’ve
learned about how precious freedom truly is.
We’ve learned something about what it costs to defend it.  We’ve seen something on display that we’ve
always known existed, but that hadn’t been tested in recent memory: The
American spirit; the spirit to rebuild, unite, and resolve to face an enemy.  Though many have suffered loss, trauma, and have
faced the fact that America is forever changed, the American Spirit which has
defined us as a nation, still defines us through adversity.

Today, the Freedom Tower is being built to stand where the two
WTC towers stood.  It will be a
commanding tower of prism glass and cement with pools and trees at its base.  Its height to the tip of its spire is 1776
feet, to recall the year of our Declaration of Independence.   It
sits upon a 20-ton granite slab which
reads:   “To honor
and remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and as a tribute
to the enduring spirit of freedom. – July Fourth, 2004.”

Prayer

There is a story in Israel’s history that has to do with a
tower.  In Bible times and in history the
tower was a fixture on a nation’s landscape.
It offered the ability to spot enemies from afar and protect those who
took refuge in it. It was a place of strength.

In Judges 9:47, we
encounter a man named Abimilech.  He made
himself king, and though the people of the region were warned that they would
regret the choice, they elected him to rule.
He had just destroyed the city of Shechem and now some of the people had
run from a tower to a stronghold within the temple of their god.  Abimilech burned them out.  He then went to Thebez and the people ran to
a strong tower also.  Abimiliech tried to
burn them out as well, but a woman threw down a millstone and crushed his head!
The tower was a very safe place to be in historic times.  But not all were impervious to a ruthless
enemy.

There is an
incredible American spirit that seeks to go on after the Sept. 11
tragedy.  A spirit that won’t be overcome
by an evil ideology; a cowardly act of holy war.  A spirit that says we will rise again
stronger than before, in deeper love with freedom. But it is a spirit ever-
vigilant to the enemies’ approach.

That spirit is embodied in Freedom Tower.  Looking at it in the years to come, people
from every corner of the globe will realize that the American spirit is very
strong; refuses to be extinguished, and will deal with any enemies that seek to
try!

But for the Christian there is another kind of tower, and
another kind of spirit.  Yes, it is a
strong spirit, it loves freedom, and it is resolved to stand against its enemy.  And the tower that we can count on  doesn’t just embody this spirit, it IS this spirit!  Because
the Christian draws its strength
from Jesus our strong tower.  The
Christian draws its wonderful freedom from
Jesus our strong tower.  And the
Christian draws its resolve to stand
against its enemy from Jesus our strong tower.
This metaphor began with David who said in Psalm 61:3 that the Lord was his tower of refuge from enemies and
his strength.

1. A.      Our Strength

This comes from knowing Christ and having a
relationship with Him!

1. Strength for life in general.  In Phil. 4, Paul speaks of the secret of
   being content and summarizes that he can do all things through Christ who
   strengthens.  Sometimes hard times come.  Sometimes discouragement or depression clouds our
   skies; sometimes addiction may threaten to undo us.
2. Strength to be what He wants me to be.  Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power Eph.6:10-13
3. B.      Our Freedom

It
is for freedom that Christ has set us free!

Paul depicts the essential
difference between those who know Christ and those who don’t as that of being a
slave or being free.  Sin for the one who
has not yet accepted Christ is a controlling factor in our lives, and we don’t
actually have the freedom to march to a different beat.   When we have the freedom that Christ won for
us on the cross active in our lives, we can actually become the person we are
intended to be-this can become reality by the One who created us!  Rom. 7

1. C.      Our Resolve

We
find resolve to resist

>Submit to God; Resist the Devil!  James 4:7 We
must suit up with the armor of God: His Word, faith, and be led by the Spirit!  Abiding in the tower that is Jesus, we can
experience victory over the daily and lifelong effects of sin.  We possess resurrection power if we’ll only
draw on it!  Victory over depression;
victory over addiction; victory over intense bitterness that has rooted itself
in our hearts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We
find resolve to rest

>We rest in the final victory over sin
that was won by Christ-I Jn. 3:8

As
in the tower story with Abimilech, the head of Satan will be crushed!

The works of Satan are not to be the only characteristics of this world-The force of love, grace and peace that Jesus provides counters hate, greed, murder, graft, abortion, and the suffering of innocents.  Ultimately, Satan will be
destroyed and there will be no more of his works!

>We rest in the absolute impenetrable nature of our
salvation!

Residing in the
tower that is Christ, we rest assured that come what may-emotions, the enemy,
or even our wrong choices-we have the promise of eternal life and it is
unshakeable   No one and nothing can separate me
from Christ’s love. Rom.8:35+  a car and a pit bull

 

 

Like the tower that A couldn’t take down, Jesus IS the tower
that stands today.  In Him we can take
refuge.  We find the strength that life
can sometimes sap from us, we find a freedom that the strongholds of temple
gods can’t offer.  And we can rest
knowing that the enemy stands defeated-its head crushed- and that we can’t be
dislodged from His secure walls of salvation

The Freedom Tower sits on an immense granite slab with
important words of remembrance etched into it.

The tower that is Jesus rests on a foundation of eternal
love and divine purpose.  It is inscribed
“I gave up my life so that you might have life, and have it more abundantly”

Invitation                          the tower that is Jesus….It is the
very best and safest place to be