The Junkyard

“The Junkyard”

In a small town just outside of Omaha, Nebraska, there were three brothers that ran a corn and cattle farm. The farm was founded by their father, Thomas C. Mathers, in the early 1960s as a middle-aged man. Thomas Mathers died in 1989 after suffering ongoing heart complications and left the farm to his boys Luke, Brian, and Todd Mathers.

The boys were hard workers and continued to build upon what their father had left them. What was a 500 acre farm at the time of Mr. Mathers’ death grew into a 2000 acre farm by 2005. The boys made a great team. Luke is the oldest and is a natural born farmer. His father always said “That boy must have been a farmer in his previous life!”

Brian is a people’s person. He’s the wheeler and dealer. He handles the farm hands and all personnel issues. He was also the spokesman for the farm and determined who they did business with.

Todd is the youngest son. Todd went to college and studied business and received a master’s degree in finance. He crunched numbers, presented investment strategies to the brothers, maintained the books, and constantly searched for opportunities to grow the business.

After years of success, Brian became curious about the world outside of small Fremont, Nebraska. Being a single man, he started to covet the women he saw on television, fancy cars and clothes, and the lavish lifestyles portrayed in magazines.

Brian informed Luke and Todd that he had decided to leave the business to go and live life outside of Nebraska. He expressed his desires to experience the life he sees on television. Brian says, “Guys I have never gotten an opportunity to enjoy the fruits of my labor; so I’m taking some money with me, and I’m going away to do just that.”  Though his brothers would miss him greatly, they decided not to obstruct Brian’s wishes.

Brian headed to sunny San Diego, California. He bought a brand new corvette and rented an apartment on the beach. Brian attracted a lot of attention from women and male friends who took to his giving ways. Brian went through women and always had a leach attached to him at local bars. Brian was not the business man that Todd was and there were no farms in San Diego to run. Brian was beginning to run out of money.

After seven years, Brian’s car didn’t have the same appeal that it had when he purchased it. Brian no longer received attention from the girls anymore, and the friends that he thought he had were no longer around after the money began to dry up. Brian was now broke and lonely.

Brian returned home to his brothers in 2012. When he arrived, he expected to be given a cold shoulder, but he was surprisingly wrong. They rejoiced like kids when they saw that their brother had returned. He apologized to them for leaving and told them of all the mistakes he had made. He told them that he spent his money on an expensive car, a fancy apartment, and fast living. He wept on the shoulders of his brothers as he embraced them and begged their forgiveness.

Luke softly patted Brian on the back and requested that he take a ride with him and Todd. The boys jumped in the truck and took a ride toward Omaha. On the edge of the city was a junkyard. When they arrived at the junkyard, Luke said to Brian: “Our father brought me here when I was 14. He made me look at this place and take it in. He told me that people fail to realize that everything that this world has to offer has an expiration date and those things will one day become a part of some kind of junkyard. Everything in this place was once someone’s dream or goal. Now it sits in piles of worthless, rusted junk. Our father shared that with me because I was the oldest son and he wanted me to always be invested in the things that truly mattered. That being said, while you invested in things that will one day see this graveyard of things, me and Todd decided to invest in our love for you. You only spent a quarter of your stake in this business, and the rest Todd has continued to invest into this business. Our father instructed me to do this so that we can always benefit from the fruits of his sacrifice.”

Friends and family, it is important that we understand that the most important things in life aren’t things at all. We sacrifice our happiness for the enemy’s mirage of happiness. That is, Satan understands our pleasures and our desires, and he deceives us into believing that we are experiencing happiness. This is not happiness. It is merely a temporary investment into something that is slowly decaying and will someday see its day in the graveyard of things. Cars, money, houses, fame, power, and the worldly pleasures those things bring, will all die. An investment into the one living GOD in heaven is what, some may refer to as, “A sure bet!”

Let’s not focus on the acquisition of things and worldly pleasures, but more so on Christ, our love for one another, and the spreading of GOD’s word. Finding our place in Him enables us to enjoy the things that GOD has set before us with a deeper appreciation.

Today’s Beacon of Light Scriptures:

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 

17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (John 2:16-17)

Today’s Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we are made from earth and our flesh desires those things that are of the earth. Father there is truth in our path towards you, and we ask you to illuminate the mirages of happiness set forth by the enemy O Lord. Empower us. Help us to remember that we have had the power over the world since Jesus overcame the world at Calvary. May our treasures accompany our hearts and desires in Heaven. In Jesus name, Amen…

Healthy Diet

Jessica Martin is the youngest of three daughters born to a prominent family in Auburn, Alabama. Her parents both came from a long line of wealth tracing back to the mid-19^th century. Her sisters are not much older than she is; they in fact all attended the same high school at one point. Her sisters were popular at school because of their beauty and family name. Jessica on the other hand was simply known as the younger sister of Cherian and Diane Martin.

Lacking attention both at home and at school, Jessica turned to her one true love, which was food. Jessica had a terrible diet. By her senior year, she was 50 pounds heavier than she was as a freshman. Jessica was not considered to be unattractive as a freshman, and she had a petite stature. Jessica was merely focused on the adulation that her older sisters received by their peers and the attention she did not.

Jessica embraced all the southern fixings she had grown accustomed to living in the Deep South. She loved fried foods; she loved the rich deserts made by their kitchen staff; she also loved all the fattening meats and traditional fixings at the Auburn Football tailgates on Saturdays. Her eating habits had gotten the attention of her family, who articulated their admonitions, but to no avail.

By the time January had come around during Jessica’s senior year of high school, she took a good look in the mirror at herself. She finally was able to see what her family had come to recognize. She had abused her body with poor food choices. As a result, she disliked the person in the mirror more than the one she despised as a high school freshman.

Jessica knew that she wanted to experience a high school prom, but she reached the conclusion that she could not get a desired date without changing her eating habits. She made up in her mind that she will lose 50 pounds in 4 months.

Jessica began working out and exercising heavily. She had their kitchen staff prepare healthy meals for her at all times. After month one, Jessica had only lost 6 pounds. She was highly disappointed at her results sense she had put forth a relentless effort to put her on track to achieving her goal. She knew that she would not be successful at this rate, so she implemented drastic measures. Jessica began forcing herself to regurgitate subsequent to consuming big meals. She continued to work out vigorously and consume water and energy drinks.

In the middle of March, Jessica began to see a dramatic change in her figure. She began receiving complements at school from her girlfriends and catching a couple of eyes by the boys. This gave her added motivation. Jessica wanted to know how far she had come by weighing herself on a scale. She could not believe her eyes when she saw the scale. Jessica had loss a staggering total of 41 pounds over 81 days. That gave her 32 days to lose 9 pounds.

Jessica continued her bulimic practices to achieve her goal. It was no longer a means to an end. Jessica had worked her way into becoming an outright bulimic. She reverted to her old eating habits because she knew that she would get rid of it through regurgitation. She even began taking laxatives without consulting a physician. She was obsessed with her figure and the fear of gaining the weight back. Jessica had no reason to discontinue her dangerous habit; after all, she looked amazing.

Jessica finally received the call she had been looking for. Thomas Payne reached out to her and asked her to the prom. She was elated by his gesture. She immediately contacted her friends and sisters to tell them the good news.

The following day, Jessica showed up to school. She noticed that her throat was a little hoarse and that she was having abdominal pain. She went to the bathroom to gather herself and was immediately overcome with faint. After collapsing onto the bathroom floor, a student found her minutes later and notified the front office. Her parents were contacted immediately and directed to meet the ambulance at the East Alabama Medical Center.

Hours later, the doctors informed Jessica’s parents that her blood sugar was extremely low and that they found signs in her throat, teeth, and on her knuckles that would suggest that their daughter was suffering bulimia nervosa. Her parents were devastated. Jessica’s kidney’s had suffered from laxative abuse, which required a week in the hospital. As a result, her unhealthy diet caused her to miss the prom that she abused her body for.  

Brothers and sisters, we can use this story to illuminate the practices of our diets in our daily lives. We pay a lot more attention to our flesh than we do our spirit; however, we can learn a valuable lesson from the fleshly diet.

When we over feed the flesh, we become overweight. When we over feed our spirit with a worldly diet, we subject our spirit-man to obesity and being overweight in sin. When this occurs, we not only empower the worldly spirit within us, we store sin like our flesh stores fat. In order to rid ourselves of sin (i.e. spiritual fat), it requires healthy dieting and exercise (i.e. The word of GOD and its practical use). We don’t have to go on binge diets like Jessica who’s depicted in the story above because GOD gave us a guaranteed nutrition plan when Jesus died for our sins at Calvary! All that is required for this nutrition plan is the desire of the heart to commit one’s self to GOD’s word and putting it to practical use. Once we follow His plan, we’ll begin to see that GOD has whipped us back into our desired Christian form! Incorporate GOD’s healthy diet today and trim the worldly fat that we know as sin.

In addition, think of how your fleshly body works in order to make sense of how our spirit works. What we put in is generally what we put out. If we feed our spirit steady doses of the world, it will only produce worldly results. If we allow ourselves to ingest a steady diet of negativity from those who love the world, wecan only expect to take on the mentality of those who love the world. If we allow things such as pornographic materials, or music that incites violence to be digested into our spirit, then we can expect fornication, adultery, and physical aggression to manifest themselves in our later actions. If we feed our spirit a steady dose of GOD’s word and Christ-like elements, our spirits will have received righteous nutrition and will project a Christ-like persona. It’s a very simple concept that we must attempt to receive less we miss our prom date with Christ in Heaven.

Today’s Beacon of Light Scriptures

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).’

I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food (Job 23:12).

Today’s Prayer:

Heavenly Father, without a healthy portion of Your spiritual nourishment, we are ill-equipped to combat the enemy. Lord we cannot win alone and we cannot defeat the enemy while we are spiritually empty. Lord we desire a healthy share of the spiritual feast that you have prepared before us and we pray that you allow it to strengthen us in mighty way O Lord… In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen…

Victory

Lauriel had finally reached her last day at a drug rehab clinic just outside of Columbia, South Carolina. She had previously gotten into some trouble with the police regarding a felony drug possession. This wasn’t Lauriel’s first rodeo with the law. She had been getting in trouble since the age of sixteen.

Lauriel’s mother and father died in a car accident when she was 14 years-old. She was devastated. Her parents loved her like no other. She was an only child who happened to be born to two parents that were also the only children of their parents. The only person that was alive was her mother’s mother, Nana Belle.

Nana Belle was the typical southern grandma. She spoiled Lauriel all of her life and made special treats for her all the time. Lauriel moved in with Nana Belle down in a little town called Tifton, Georgia shortly after her parents’ memorial service. Nana Belle made Lauriel feel right at home. She told Lauriel stories of how her mom and dad used to sneak around as kids. She also told Lauriel something she never knew.

“Lauriel,” Nana Belle said, “I can still remember the day you were born and your mother telling me that she and your father wanted me to name you. I named you Lauriel after the laurel tree, also called the sweet bay tree. The tree symbolizes victory. I know that this situation is tough for you, but in the end you’ll have victory. Don’t worry because GOD has already shown me.”

A year had past and things were beginning to become normal for Lauriel again. Lauriel had adjusted well to the Tifton community.

One day after leaving the local diner after school, Lauriel walked a couple of blocks to Nana Belle’s. She entered the house and called out to her grandmother as usual. There was no response. She figured Nana Belle was out back tending to her garden. As Lauriel entered the kitchen, she saw Nana Belle lying lifeless across the floor. Nana Belle had passed away. Again Lauriel was devastated.

Because Lauriel was only sixteen, soon to be seventeen, she became a ward of the state. Lauriel spiraled downhill. She sought attention and affection in all of the wrong places. This is where her bout with drugs and other petty criminal behaviors began.

By the age of 22, Lauriel had been arrested several times for minor drug violations. Eventually, she was sentenced to a year in a state prison for drug possession. She had a lot of time to think of her parents and her grandmother. She remembered the lessons her parents taught her from the Bible. She began to pray more and ask GOD to help her. She focused on the word victory that she had tattooed on her arm after Nana Belle’s death. The Bible became her consolation and her moral compass. Lauriel was determined to make amends with GOD and see to it that Nana Belle’s vision of her victory came to fruition.

When Lauriel was released from prison, she had been led by prayer to check herself into a drug rehab center. She received the final tools to kick her habit. On the final day, Lauriel’s nurse told her that GOD is going to use her to change lives. “Don’t ask me what it means,” the nurse said; “Just walk in faith and you will complete your task.”

When Lauriel was released, she couldn’t wait to go to church. When Sunday morning finally came, she drew stares and whispers as she entered the church. Some of the members still associated her with the person Lauriel used to be. Their judgement hurt Lauriel, but she managed to focus her attention on GOD and not her embarrassment.

As Lauriel sat in the pews, a soft voice in her spirit urged her to unchain herself from the pain of the past. She rose from her seat and entered into the isle. The congregation appeared to be taken aback by her subtle action. She stood before the church and said, “Today I will gain victory by leaving my burdens at the cross with my Heavenly Father.”

She began giving her testimony. She told of the losses of everyone that meant anything to her. She told of her experiences as a foster child. She told of her spiral into the drug world and the many things that resulted from it. She told of being sentenced to prison. Finally, Lauriel told of her greatest accomplishment, which was finding her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ within prison walls.

Lauriel understood now what victory was. She said to the congregation, “I am Victory today! My GOD has allowed my world to crumble, that he may rebuild me anew. I have been restored and rewarded with spiritual wealth today.”

Tears could be seen streaming down the faces of her onlookers. Those who judged Lauriel now looked upon her with admiration and a feeling of conviction. She was embraced by many and moved by their sincerity. As she closed her eyes, she felt those chains break and a feeling of elevation. She could hear her parents and Nana Belle rejoicing and crying tears of joy from the heavens. Lauriel smiled and whispered to herself, “So this is what victory feels like…”

Lauriel went on to become a well-recognized speaker nationwide, and she wrote a best seller, ‘Victory: A Second Chance in Christ.’ She dedicated her book to her parents and Nana Belle.

Today’s Beacon of Light Scriptures:

3. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 

4. and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 

5. and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the  Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:3-5).   

Today’s Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for your divine presence and purpose in our lives. There are many things that seem far too great in our lives to handle, but by our faith in You, our reward is victory. Give us strength and courage O’GOD in the face of our tribulations, and continue to anchor us in salvation Lord. May Your love and grace cover us all of our days. In Jesus name, Amen…