God Save the Chili!

I spent a good portion of the evening last night keeping track of the powerful storms* that were making their way through my former home state of Oklahoma.

My older daughter, who only lives a few buildings over from my apartment, and I had been texting back and forth with her two younger siblings that live in Oklahoma throughout the afternoon as the bigger storm began its journey into the areas of the state in which they live.  My younger son lives near Oklahoma City while my younger daughter lives a couple of hours northeast of him near Tulsa where my older daughter and I also used to live.

The storm passed through my son’s area pretty smoothly, but seemed to build in volume and velocity as it moved northeast.  By around 7:30 my younger daughter reported that the sirens in their area were just sounding… right as she was cooking some homemade chili… So of course, my immediate word of wisdom and encouragement was,

“God save the chili!”

I have always found that a little bit of humor helps to dispel thoughts of anxiety and stress… but I am also well aware… that if my wife taught our kids anything… it was to boldly, confidently and peacefully stand on the Word of God for His faithful protection of their family and property.

Well, the exceptionally strong wind, damaging hail and various manifestations and occasional touchdowns (ie; tornados) of circulation sent its havoc across the greater Tulsa area but… PRAISE THE LORD!... it passed south of where my daughter lives and literally came within a block of where I used to live near southeast Tulsa.

I will admit that watching the local Tulsa news station app on my smart TV brought back a lot of memories of Fiver and I hunkering down in the center of the house when tornado threats came near our neighborhood while living back there.  But I had to laugh and text my older daughter after the immediate threats had passed by… and tell her that I had a image of my dog Fiver sitting on a couch somewhere in heaven, watching the reporting of the Oklahoma storm through some kind of intergalactic internet, as he lay warm, calm and quiet next to my wife… with a clearly defined smirk on his face knowing that he’ll NEVER again, have to go through the anxiety that overtook him whenever the storms came by our earthly abode!

Another thought that I had last night was of how I am captivated and maybe even mesmerized a bit, by the sheer magnitude of the power and force that can be displayed by a severe thunderstorm as it generates excessive winds, hail and tornados that can leave behind a swath of destruction and mayhem all along its path.

Conversely, I guess I could kind of say the same thing about the positive way in which I am drawn to, captivated and definitely mesmerized by the name of Jesus and the power of His Word that leaves a wide swath of love, life, joy, peace, grace and wisdom in the hearts and lives of those of us, who make the daily decision to enfold their lives into Christ.  2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that,

“Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he (or she) has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.” (TPT) 

WOW!  If you’re anything like me… that particular verse of the truth of God’s Word should thrill you from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet!  But you know what?  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the thrill of God’s Word working in my life and have finally come… through my own thick-headed thinking… to the realization that not everyone thinks on or about the Word of God in the same way that I do.

Like “DAH” Right?  I’ve discovered that I tend to share a lot of the Word with people and suggest certain verses of scripture for them to read…especially here in my blog posts… and expect them to understand it just like I do.  But many times, I’ve seen some folks who will look at the recommended verses and not really gain the conceptualization of the points being made.  I remember my early years in my Christian walk as I excitedly sat down to read in my Bible only to turn away disappointed and thinking hummm… that’s all Greek to me (and I was reading an English translation)!

So, my point?  The scripture above tells us that as Christians, we HAVE become an entirely NEW person and that the old ways of sin that we may or may not have lived and seen as common place to us… the old habits, thoughts. words, tempers etc… are GONE!  VANISHED!  And BEHOLD!  ALL things have become new!  Like WOW, RIGHT?  But is it really possible?  Well… according to this verse IT IS?

But how do I do this, one might ask?  How do I start living the NEW life?  Well… First of all, it takes an ever-increasing knowledge of the Word!  So… you want me to read my Bible more?  Yes… BUT… you need teaching to go along with the personal reading of it!  So that’s another area that I am going to venture out into with this blog.  Along with the weekly posts, I am going to start suggesting some study aids in the forms of Bible Study series, Christian teaching books, videos and other helpful aids that you can study your Bible with when you are alone or with family and friends!

It looks like I’m getting a little too windy here… so I’d better wrap this up!  But I am excited to hear about each of you growing in your excitement with the tangible changes you will begin to experience as you learn more and more of God’s will (ie; His Word) in your lives!  And just to wet your whistle (as my mom would say…) a couple of my favorite Bible Study series are the “LifeChange Bible Study Series”** from the Navigators and the Warren W. Wiersbe “B” Series of Bible Study books.***

As I look out the window right now, I can see and hear that our Tennessee series of thunderstorms have moved into the area… and although there is a forecast of strong winds and heavy downpours… the chance for tornados is minimal with this storm!  PTL!  Have a great rest of your weekend and when the storms of life come to your neighborhood, REMEMBER…

God Save the Chili!  - (ie; chill and trust in the Lord!)

 

 *There were three different fronts that made their ways across the state throughout the day and night.  The most consequential coming across Oklahoma from the southwest in the early evening hours.

** https://www.navigators.org/resource/life-change-series/

*** https://wiersbe.com/books/series/be-series