Josiah Road

Teetering On The Edge

posted by Mike Blackaby 9Jun

I never thought my love for hockey would put me in mortal danger. I recognized the potential harm that comes whenever body checking, blades, sticks, and adrenaline are combined. However, I never counted on one particular hazard. It was the perfect winter oasis. Nestled on the side of a giant hill sat a pond that would bring hours of joy to an otherwise dreary winter. As the temperature dropped the water hardened, forming the perfect spot for private hockey games. The hidden location was both a blessing and a curse. We had to navigate down a narrow path to reach the bottom of the hill, and one side dropped into an abrupt cliff that required the utmost caution.

On one particular day, the drive down proved uneventful, but a problem occurred while climbing back up. I sat in the front seat as my father drove up the steep embankment. All of the sudden the tires hit a patch of ice and began to slip, sliding us right to edge of the cliff. Unable to reverse for fear of falling and unable to get traction to move forward, we teetered helplessly. Then something appeared at the top of the path. It was a truck we did not recognize, and a stranger was coming towards us. He had been driving on the highway overlooking the pond and had noticed our dangerous condition. We gladly accepted his help, and he attached chains to our van and effortlessly pulled us up the path to safety.

We are all in trouble. Having rejected God, we each tread down a path towards a mirage of happiness. The closer we approach self-gratification the farther we wander from God. The temptation of spiritual self-governance shines before us as the fruit must have glimmered for Adam and Eve. But all is not as it seems.

We soon realize how temporary the lusts of the flesh are and how unfulfilling independence from God is. The pond of indulgence looked far more pleasing from the top of the hill, and turning our eyes upward reveals how far we have roamed from the path. Desperately, we begin our ascent back to God, but soon fall into disaster; we cannot do it on our own. Trial after trial further awakens our need for help. We become stuck in the sins that seemed so attractive at the time. It seems as though each inch forward results in several feet back. What are we to do? The good news is this: While we were still sliding to our inevitable fall, Jesus stood at the top of the hill. On a hill called Golgotha Jesus died for you and for me, taking the chains that held us in bondage to sin and pulling us up to safety. Left on our own we will surely die, but Jesus stands on the crest of the hill, offering salvation to all who would believe.

“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!” Romans 5:8

Would You Like That Crispy?

posted by Daniel Blackaby 2Jun

The warmth of the bright sun rays bathed my body, as the gentle sound of waves crashing inched me closer into the world of dreams. I had never been to Myrtle Beach before, but as I lay upon its soft sandy shore, I began to wonder how I had lived so long without experiencing this heavenly oasis. Closing my eyes I thought: Can life get any better than this? Perhaps not – but as I awoke the next morning I discovered – it could get worse.

I had gone to bed that night feeling energized and satisfied. Growing up enduring the epic-long winters on the western plains of Canada, my pale skin had been long deprived of sunlight. As I walked upon the beach I vowed to make up for lost time. So when my mother handed me the bottle of sunscreen, I quickly handed it back, “thanks mom… but no thanks. I don’t want anything standing between this body and a quick tan! Besides, I never burn!” When I crawled into bed that night, I dreamed of the bronzed body I soon would be sporting. Comfortably I drifted into sleep, excited to hit the beach again the next day.

“AHHH!” A sharp, burning jolt of pain raced through my body. Opening my eyes I tried to sit up, but my body ached from head to toe. I felt like a linebacker with an attitude had just flattened me, and then proceeded to cover my mangled body with boiling lava. Removing my covers, I realized that it wouldn’t take Sherlock Holmes to uncover the reason for my pain. My skin looked as if a lobster had just bathed in tomato paste. There wasn’t a faction of an inch of my body that wasn’t beaming bright red. Even my fingernails felt warm. Just then my sister walked into the room, and in-between muffled snickering she managed to say, “wow… good thing you never burn right?”

I learned two lessons from experience. First: wear sunscreen. However, the second one came as I finished off my second jumbo bottle of Aloe-Vera lotion. I was struck with the similarities of my experience and that of being exposed to sin. Regardless of the sin, perhaps questionable movies, friendships, habits etc., God warns us to be wary of spending too much time in these situations. Like my burn, the consequences are not visible at first, but slowly the experiences are burning deeper and deeper into our soul. There’s the old cliche, “garbage in, garbage out” – no Christian, strong or weak, is immune to the effects of sin. As Christians we are called to engage the world, however sometimes maybe it is wiser to follow Joseph’s example and flee (1 Cor. 10:13). I encourage you to be careful about spending too much time being exposed to sin and its effects. You may assume it doesn’t affect you. But you are wrong. Oh, and if you’re planning on going to the beach this summer, don’t forget the sunscreen – trust me.

1 Cor. 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

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