Certified, Authorized and Genuine Parts

I was looking through some old pictures the other day and came across a picture of my first car parked in the driveway of my parent’s home.  It was a black 1966 MGB that I’d bought from my sister’s husband in 1973.  It was a wonderfully fun little car that Piper and I thoroughly enjoyed for about four years, until the need for a bigger car that could carry all my photography equipment became apparent.

But as fun as it was… it was a bit of a finicky machine that required a lot of tender loving care!  In those four years I had to replace numerous parts on the car including second gear, the clutch, multiple mufflers, resonators, shock absorbers, a U-Joint and other sundry items of importance… hummm… including the original soft top that leaked!  But again, I was young, enjoyed the challenge and was able to do some of the work myself (with the help of a close friend!).  I actually got pretty good at tuning and syncing the unique dual carburetors by ear!

The worse mishap I had with the car was being hit by a drunk driver on the way home from work one evening… a month or so before our wedding… which required the replacement of the right rear quarter panel.  And so it was at that time, that I splurged and had the car repaired and painted a deep blue… and soon after… replaced the soft top (which I got with a 10% employee discount through the Sears catalog.  You still could get almost anything through their catalog at that time!)

One thing that I learned with that car though, was that it always ran best when I used official British Leland parts… and paid the extra cost for the more unusual repairs… to have the one certified MGB/British car mechanic in town that I knew, do the repair work.  He had the right knowledge and experience, the right parts and the right tools and electronics to bring it back to factory specs.

Now, all that came to mind as I remembered my MGB while opening my Bible study program today.  Then the light went on and I thought… Hummm… that same reality could… or SHOULD… be said by Christians living anywhere in the world today!

I mean let’s face it… simply stated, since we and everything else in this world was created by God… shouldn’t we be using His divinely authorized and approved parts for the repair and/or smoother running of our bodies and our lives?  Colossians 1:16 informs us that,

“He (God) created all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Whether they are kings or lords, rulers or powers- everything has been created through Him and for Him.” God’s Word © 

Sounds like the perfect scenario for a wonderful life, doesn’t it?  Well, that was the plan, until Adam and Eve rebelled against God and sin entered into the world… along with the presence of the enemy of our souls whose only job is to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10 God’s Word ©) 

I actually like the more accurate translation in The Passion Translation where it is declared that, “A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy.”  The enemy doesn’t just want to kill… he wants to make it messy… so much so that it will destroy any hope that the believer might be holding onto… and then have a lasting memory of just how awful the experience was, so that no future hope can arise again!

So, what do we do to make sure that these problems can be accurately repaired… or maybe even never happen in the first place?  By the regular service of our lives and the use of God’s CERTIFIED, AUTHORIZED and GENUNE Heavenly Parts!   And where do we find those CERTIFIED, AUTHORIZED and GENUINE Heavenly Parts you might ask?  In the Word of God!  The Word is the creative power of God in our lives.  It is what God used to create the world.  Hebrews 11:3 clearly states this by declaring that,

“Faith convinces us that God created the world through His WORD. This means what can be seen was made by something that could not be seen.” (God’s Word ©) 

In the first chapter of the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings, Moses described how God created the heavens by the words that He spoke.  In each of the six days of creation it is recorded how “God said… and there was” and then “God saw… that it was good.”*

When Jesus came to this earth, He repeatedly told His followers that He only did the things that He saw His Father God doing or spoke the words the Father told Him to say.**  And then in John 1:1-3, John told of how Jesus was the Word of God and how everything came into existence through Him.

So, with these and many more verses throughout the Bible, we see the foundational truth that God established from the very beginning of time… that His Word and His Word alone… not only contains… but IS the CERTIFIED, AUTHORIZED and GENUINE Heavenly Parts that we should be using to keep our lives in tip-top running condition!

I’m thinking that just like the big sign that hangs in front of the Service building at the local Chevrolet dealer where I bring my car for it’s factory scheduled service, that proudly states; “WE USE GENUINE CHEVROLET PARTS”… that every Christian church that preaches the Word of God should have a sign over their entrance that reads, “WE USE GENUINE HEAVENLY PARTS.”

What do you think about that?  When I’m feeling down, in need of spiritual, physical, emotional and/or mental repair or service in my life… the first place I go is to my Bible!

How about you?  It makes sense that the original manufacturer will know you and your life better than any second-hand source… doesn’t it?

I can honestly say that when my little 1966 MGB was running well, it purred like a kitten, and hugged those winding roads along the majestic northern California coastline with that same sense of exhilaration and security that one of Piper’s up close and personal embracement’s would give to me… and then ooh… those exhaust notes as I shifted through the gears… it serenaded the two of us in the cockpit with sounds as beautiful as a church choir singing Handel’s Halleluiah Chorus!

And you know… it’s the same serendipity of pleasant notes that my life resonates as I maintain it with the CERTIFIED, AUTHORIIZED and GENUINE Heavenly Parts that I discover each day as I study God’s handbook for His creation… universally known and loved as the Bible!

Have a wonderful spring day!  I made the big move today and switched over to shorts for the fist time in 2023… (maybe not such a daring move since it’s supposed to be in the mid-80’s today!)  But whatever your weather is… have a GREAT day by your use of God’s CERTIFIED, AUTHORIZED and GENUINE Heavenly Parts in every part of your life and thereby keep EXPECTING God’s BEST!

 

*See Genesis 1:1-31

**See verses like, John 8:28, 38, 10:30 or 14:21 etc…