My Story #76 -- "Playing Jacks"

 

My Story #76

PLAYING JACKS

My wife and I met in Lexington, Kentucky, when I was in school at Lexington Baptist College, a unique and high-quality school that is no longer in existence. I knew Shirley Maddox for about eight (8) years before I started dating her seriously.

Shirley and her family are from Lawrenceburg, Kentucky; and, as the occasion usually is, we went to visit her family in order for me to meet her mother, her five sisters, and her one brother. It was an enjoyable occasion, as we all had similar religious beliefs, and the family were a loving family. Actually, the mother and siblings treated Shirley almost as one would a queen, but that is beside the point.

While visiting once, I remember watching some of the folks there as they played JACKS on the floor. Many of our young people today have never played this game, but it is challenging and a lot of fun.

I decided to challenge Shirley to a game of JACKS, because I had played the game as a child. We both sat on the floor, but Shirley did not say a word. I started picking up JACKS, but I missed in, I think, the sixth round. Then it was Shirley's turn. I feel ashamed to say anything about my ability to play this game, because Shirley went to 10 and all the way back to one and stopped and won the game hands down. I asked her where she learned to play like that. She said she had been playing them a long since she was very young.

I never played JACKS with Shirley again. What kind of a bad person am I?!

 

My Story #75 -- Piano On The Pulpit

 

My Story #75

PIANO ON THE PULPIT

This happened on a day when I was young and strong. The Bluegrass Boys Quartet were to come to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Ohio, for a weekend meeting, and I was busy preparing for the meeting.

One thing I wanted to do was to put the piano on the pulpit so the entire quartet could be on the platform together to sing rather than my being far away from them at the piano.

So, MY BIG IDEA was to put the piano on the pulpit. In my foolishness, I decided to try to do it myself; so, I acquired a couple of appropriate boards and leaned them on the pulpit and the floor. Then I proceeded to roll the piano toward the boards, pushing it with my body.

I aligned the piano wheels with the boards; then I put my back against the piano and pushed as hard as I could and, with great effort, I pushed the piano up the boards and onto the pulpit--I will never be the same.

Perhaps that is why I have such serious arthritis as I do. We had a good meeting that weekend, and God blessed, but I am paying for my foolishness now. 

 

My Story #74 - Satan As A Serpent

 

My Story #74

SATAN AS A SERPENT

Once I read a book entitled, "Satan Is Alive And Well On Planet Earth." Actually, I do not agree with that. I believe the Satan is very alive on the earth but is not very well. Let me tell you about an event that took place when I was pastor of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Ohio.

We had a few snakes to come around our house from the woods behind the house. My wife was extremely afraid of snakes. One day, when I went out the back door of the house, I saw the largest black snake I think I had ever seen in my life. He was just lying there on the back yard very quiet. I thought he may have just eaten a small animal.

I approached him slowly; then I took my crutch and pushed on him to see if he would leave, but he didn't. After doing this a few times, I thought about my wife and considered what would happen if she saw this huge snake in the yard when she comes out from the back door. Then I made a serious decision--to kill the snake.

After a few seconds of planning in my mind, I took my crutch and pushed the tip of my crutch down on his head, and I just left the crutch there as I pushed down as hard as I could.

While I was crushing the serpent's head with my crutch, the snake began to curl up. He wrapped himself around my crutch all the way up to my hand, and his tail wrapped around my hand. The snake then uncurled and curled again and again. I must have kept my crutch on his head for a good 10-20 minutes as he kept curling.

As his curling slowed, I took my crutch off from his head and watched as he kept curling very slowly, as he was dying.

Then I realized that, just as this snake died very slowly, he was not in very good health; he was not well. I believe we can understand Satan in our day just as the snake, as Satan is working frantically to try to win his war against God.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Satan is very busy, as he is dying, since Jesus crushed his head on Calvary when he died for our sins on the cross. Satan will be curling and uncurling until he finally dies in the Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Satan is NOT well; he is dying, thanks to our Savior, who crushed his head on the cross.