Daily Devotionals

Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life

Devotional: December 17th

Now that we live in Georgetown, Kentucky there is one thing that I will probably never use but still have. I have an emergency kit that was sent to me as a resident of Madison County who lived in close proximity to the chemical weapons dump that the United States Army maintains just off Route 25 South of Richmond. I can remember first moving into the area and seeing this little box that I was told to keep plugged in at all times. The box was the warning system which would give us a few minutes to use the emergency kit.

In case of an emergency we were to open the kit and remove the contents. Inside we would find a large piece of thick clear plastic (the kind used to cover windows in the winter), a roll of duct tape and a pair of scissors. We were to move to a room in the house with a flat floor covering to which the tape would stick. Then, everybody would gather under the plastic and we would have to start taping the plastic to the floor to ensure that there were no air leaks. We would then remain under the plastic until all was clear.

Every so often they would test the system to make sure that it was working properly. That was the time I would remember that I was living near a chemical weapons dump and get that uneasy feeling again. But as soon as it was over and I got busy with life it was out of my mind again.

However, there were times I couldn't help but think that the residents of Madison County would sleep a whole lot better if the Army got rid of those weapons. Why were they hanging onto them especially in a time when the whole world is concerned about weapons of mass destruction? If the bunkers used to store these weapons ruptured and the wind was brisk it could be "Bye, Bye, East Coast." Then it hit me. These are regular people making these decisions.

Regular people want the quick fix, but want an "out" as well. Regular people want saved but don't want the responsibility to rest on their willingness to change. Regular people will hang onto sin but expect God to forgive it. The warnings are there. "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21

Jesus is not an emergency kit. The love of God is not for dire straits. Salvation is for living day to day not just when the alarm sounds. One cannot live near the dump of danger and live near the heart of God. It's time to move...toward God.