Quote from Forum Archives on October 12, 2000, 11:25 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

One of my favorite writers is always Larry Davies, because he
takes the interesting, and often humorous, events of life, and
relates them to matters of faith. That is why he calls his
weekly series "Sowing Seeds of Faith". I don't know about you,
but I have found that driving up and down Interstate 95 in any
state can be monotonous, at best, and a total pain, at worst.
The Virginia stretch of I-95, (which is where I am guessing this
story took place) is a pretty, rolling stretch of roadway, but it
seems to be constantly full of cars and trucks. On one
particular day, it had a different kind of monkey activity. Read
on for details.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I want to build my life, not on the circumstances on one of our
nation's busy highways, but upon the truth that You have freely
given to me. I admit that I am extremely needy of Your truth,
not the counterfeit material that I am so often exposed to in the
daily activities around me. Help me to stand strong against the
onslaught of deceptiveness, which pervades our culture
everywhere, even in many of the churches that we love. I plead
with You to heal our land, and start from within. I am willing
to cooperate with You, for it is my own heart that I can do
something about, though only with Your help. Make me into the
man You intended, and strengthen me, that I may encourage my
family and friends.

Please protect me from whatever "monkey business" comes my way
today, Lord, and watch over my friends as well. For I come to
You, asking these things, not just for me, but for others, and in
the Wonderful Name of the One who permits me to approach You,
Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Brother Brian

Sowing Seeds of Faith
Living in the Planet of the Apes

Larry Davies

As Dave Berry would say, I am not making this up. My
mother-in-law sent a wild article from her hometown newspaper
titled, It sounds crazy: Monkeys pelt cars with fruit.

Three monkeys pelted cars on Interstate 95 with bananas and crab
apples before running across the highway and fleeing into the
woods A woman flagged down a state trooper and told him a monkey
had thrown a banana at her car. I started laughing, said the
trooper but he drove back to the scene of the attack and found a
van and a station wagon pulled off the highway. I know this
sounds crazy, one driver said, but a monkey threw an apple at
our car. At that moment a crab apple came out of nearby trees
and hit the van. Lo and behold there were three brown monkeys in
an oak tree throwing crab apples, the trooper continued. The
primates jumped out of the trees and ran across the highway.

A 6-year-old boy in the van had watched the movie Planet of the
Apes before leaving home a half-hour earlier. As the monkeys ran
across the highway, the trooper heard the boy say: Look, Mama,
were living in the planet of the apes. (Edited from Associated
Press Story)

Maybe we are living in the planet of the apes Life can be
strange at times. Like an automobile cruising along the highway,
you are minding your own business when suddenly SPLAT! Out of
the trees a monkey throws a crab apple, squashing your routine,
your day and possibly your life.

The phone call from the doctor who wants to see you
immediately

A letter from the Internal Revenue Service that can be
condensed to one word audit

An interoffice memo announcing that your company plans
to downsize

Your child brings home a note from school: Please come
to the principals office right away

The message on the answering machine from your spouse:
We have to talk

Squash! Abruptly, your peaceful journey is shattered. All
resources must now be focused on this latest crisis. Do you
resume your trip and pretend nothing happened? Do you immediately
stop to investigate? Do you quietly wait and hope the crisis will
go away? Should you call for help? Instead of being in control,
you become a helpless target worrying over what the monkeys might
throw next.

Is this why we must continually strengthen our relationship with
God? Jesus once told a story about two builders. The foolish one
built a house on a foundation of sand. The inevitable storms
arrived, the rain came down, the winds blew and beat against the
house and it collapsed. The wise builder used a foundation of
rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and
beat against the house; yet it did not fall. (Mat. 7:25) Both
builders faced the same storms but only one house survived. The
secret to survival has little to do with the storm but instead
lies within the foundation.

God is our foundation!

U Reverence for the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom
(Psalm 111:10)

U But Gods truth stands firm like a foundation stone (2
Timothy 2:19)

U After you have suffered a little while, he will restore,
support and strengthen you and he will place you on a firm
foundation (1 Peter 5:10)

U But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives
on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you
are directed by the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20)

Do you see the point? Reverence for the Lord Gods truth After
you have suffered Continue to build No empty promises to remove
crises, rather a commitment to restore, support and strengthen.

Are storms clouds approaching? Feeling the sting of a monkeys
crab apple attack? Has your journey been sidetracked by crisis?
Maybe this is a good time to build on the foundation of your holy
faith. How is your relationship with God? Does it need a little
strengthening? When is the last time you attended a Bible study?
Prayed with someone? Talked with your pastor? Its never too
late, you know.

And another thing watch out for the flying fruit.

=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/
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