Does anyone remember the song “Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer”? It made it to #6 on the Billboard chart in 1963. If there ever were days like those, I think they are behind us. This year, it is more like “the crazy, busy, endless days of summer. I know it doesn’t rhyme well, but it’s the best I can do.
After another hot week, there is a hint of cooler weather for a few days, but no mention of any rain. Prayers for relief from the heat, and for rain are very much in order.
We celebrated the Fourth of July in Ericson, watching the parade and spending the rest of the day with two of our long-time friends from “home”. As I get older, air conditioning appeals more to me than sitting outdoors on a hot summer day.
Since it is haying season in our part of the world, I’d like to share an observation from the hayfield that I made a few years back. When mowing the hay, the person operating the mowing machine tries to mow cleanly. He or she wants to do a neat, clean job so that when the neighbors drive by they will see only a cleanly mowed field, not patches of standing grass. When the job is done, it may appear that all the grass was cut off evenly, but when the rake comes along the next day, what has been hidden will be revealed. Every mistake the mower made will be exposed for all to see.
There are millions of people who are trying to live clean lives, to do good and not make mistakes. They believe that if they do all these things well, God will surely let them into heaven. The problem with this thinking is that at the judgment day, all the exterior things will be taken away, and all the sins and mistakes will be revealed. It will be plainly seen that no one is that good.
Entrance to heaven is based solely on a right relationship with God the Father, and the only way to that kind of relationship is by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11-12a reads, “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light.”
It is of utmost importance that we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ, anything less will not stand the test at the judgment.
Just thinking,
Pastor Jerry
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