FRESH!

FRESH!

When Piper and I first moved to our new home in the countryside near the small but growing town of Fuquay-Varina in North Carolina, we did the majority of our grocery shopping at the Super-Walmart located in one of the newer shopping centers in the city.  But one day, on the way to get our hair cut at the local Great Clips, I noticed another grocery store whose chain I had heard of before… but had never been in one.  So, the next time we needed some groceries, we decided to give the big Kroger store a try… and I must say… when we walked in… I was in for a big surprise!

Going through the big sliding doors, we were instantly captivated by the largest, brightly lit, attractively displayed and seemingly unending selection of the FRESHEST looking fruits and vegetables that I had seen in quite a while!  I was so enamored by the sight before me, that I may have even wondered aloud to Piper, if the field workers were outside the store unloading the FRESHLY picked harvest from trucks at that very moment! 

Needless to say… from the day forward, we split our grocery shopping into two trips.  One to Kroger’s for their FRESH fruits and vegetables and the other to Walmart for all our other grocery needs.  We were saddened latter on when the parent company of Kroger decided to close all the Kroger’s stores in our area and convert them into the more upscale Harris Teeter stores.  We had shopped at the Harris Teeter located at the other end of town and were happy with that store as well.  The problem was that they closed our more convenient Kroger location while they renovated the store and it didn’t reopen until just before I moved to Oklahoma.  

The memory of the strong reactions that I experienced, almost every time we walked into the FRESH produce section of that Kroger store in North Carolina, came back to me one morning this week when I realized how much that reaction is similar to my walking through the Word of God… just about every time I study my Bible… first thing each morning!

You know?  I can’t ever recall a time when either Piper or I grew tired or bored with God’s Word.  It has always been FRESH to us!  I remember when someone asked me if Piper’s diagnosis had shaken my faith… and I was a little stunned by the question!  For my immediate answer was absolutely NOT!  In fact, if it did anything, it drew me deeper and closer in my personal relationship with the Lord… for if I ever needed a FRESH empowering in my life, it was right then and there!

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Piper’s homegoing and I continue… with an even greater dedication of purpose… to sense the excitement and adventures that await me when I open my Bible (or Bible Study program) early each morning.  Yes, my entire life was turned upside down when she went to her well-deserved heavenly reward, and I am still adjusting to that loss to this day… but my God hasn’t changed (see: Hebrews 13:8) and neither has my strong faith in Him and the truth of His Word.  After all, it was our unwavering trust in His Word that brought us through every aspect and event of our lives up to and including where I am today… sitting here in my study in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma!

II Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that,

“All Scripture is inspired by God, and is beneficial for teaching, redirecting, correcting and training—to promote character transformation— so that the man (and Woman) of God may be PERFECT, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”    (The Remedy/KJV) 

This verse perfectly explains the daily anticipation and expectation that awaits me when I travel through the various adventures within the pages of God’s Word.  Paul told his young protégé Timothy, that the Word of God is the Almighty’s instructional handbook that is available to you and me so that we “may be PERFECT” and “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

The first definition of the Greek word translated in the King James Version as “PERFECT” is to be “FRESH” and also implies being “complete” and “having the special aptitude for given uses,” (Strong’s and Thayer’s)

Therefore, when I complete my morning Bible study each day, I am FRESH and/or as the popular idiom says, “loaded for bear!”  Meaning that “I am ready for anything, prepared to fight and/or able to overcome any challenge”* that awaits me that day!

I don’t know exactly why it is… but I love FRESH fruits and vegetables.  Maybe it’s because I was raised by parents with green thumbs who enjoyed growing FRESH vegetables as well as picking FRESH fruits from the branches of the over 14 trees, I counted one time in our family’s front and backyards… not to mention the big vegetable gardens Piper and I had when our kids were growing up!

So Yeah, I got excited when I walked into the large and colorful produce section at that Kroger’s store in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina… just like I get excited and highly EXPECTANT when I sit down to enjoy a FRESH serving of the Word of God each morning!

Is that similar to the way that you experience the FRESHNESS of the Word of God in your life?  I sure hope so!

I hope that all of you here in the USA are all having a wonderful Labor Day holiday… and I pray the same thing for those of you who live in others places in the world!  I had an interesting and (rather long) conversation the other day, with an Amazon Customer Service Supervisor who was located in Georgetown, Guyana!  It was fun to interact and share life with someone in another country… it gave me a FRESH perspective about life in South America!

Be blessed and enjoy the FRESH perspective and empowerment that regular time in the Word of God gives to you!

 

*“Loaded for bear” idiom meaning / merriam-webster.com