The Dilemma of Disappointment: January 30th Devotional

The Dilemma of Disappointment

Philippians 4:6

January 30th Devotional

      On this day in 1994 Super Bowl XXVIII was played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Georgia.  It pitted two number-one seeds against each other, the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills.  This would be the Bill’s fourth consecutive trip to the Super Bowl and one focusing on redemption.  During the previous three years, the Bills lost to the Giants, the Reskins, and the Cowboys, but this was supposed to be different.  The Bills entered the playoff as a hot team.  They won seven of their last eight games.  Their first opponent was the Los Angeles Raiders, who they lost to during the regular season.  After dismantling them they had a showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Chiefs were led by Joe Montana and Marcus Allen.  The Bills lost to the chiefs during the regular season.  The game was supposed to showcase two powerful offensive teams but Buffalo soundly defeated the Chiefs.  The Bills entered the game knowing the taste of defeat but they were ready to finally capture the Lombardi Trophy.  They were led by Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Don Beebe, and Bruce Smith.  The Cowboys were the better team on paper but few people actually expected the seemingly impossible to happen, the Bills losing four straight trips to the Super Bowl.  The Bills were leading with a dominant performance prior to halftime, the score being 13-6 at the time.  Dallas’ explosive offense had yet to find the end zone and the Bills were dominating the game.  But games aren’t won in the first half.  The Cowboys came screaming out with an offensive and defensive flurry in the second half.  Dallas would score 24 unanswered points and go on to win the game by the score of 30-13.  Emmitt Smith was voted the Super Bowl MVP, scoring two touchdowns and having over 150 total yards in the game.   

      I couldn’t imagine being the Buffalo Bills and feeling the sting of disappointment and defeat.  It was especially felt by their quarterback Jim Kelly.  Jim though hasn’t been unfamiliar with hardships.  Jim has battled mouth cancer for years.  He has had his upper jaw removed, all but three of his teeth have been removed (and those three have endured six root canals), and has been regularly in unending pain.  Tragically his son Hunter died from an incurable disease at the age of 8.  If it’s raining somewhere it’s raining on Jim Kelly.  A three-legged dog seems to have more luck than Jim.  But when asked how he felt about all of life’s disappointments Jim responded that he was blessed.  Jim Kelly is a faithful believer and finds unwavering confidence in his faith.  His verse to combat disappointment is Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  Life can be disappointing at times; for that matter, it can be downright depressing.  But God is faithful and provides us with the avenue to pray to pour our lives out at His feet, even the things that cause us disappointment and discouragement.  We can take anything that we are dealing with to God in prayer.  We can trade our disappointment and pain for God’s peace.  If you find yourself feeling disappointed turn to Jesus in prayer.  Allow that disappointment to make a prayer appointment with the Lord.

The Raven of Grief: January 29th

 

The Raven of Grief

Psalm 34:18

January 29th Devotional

      On this day in 1845 Edgar Allan Poe’s Poem “The Raven” was published in The Evening Mirror newspaper.  Poe was a famous poet and writer in the 1800s.  He is attributed as the founder of the short story (he was the first to coin the phrase).  He was considered the master of the macabre and was a pioneer in the literary world at that time.  He endured a challenging childhood.  His father abandoned him when he was just one year old and his mother died shortly before he turned three.  He was taken in by John and Frances Allen.  Though they never adopted him he decided to take their name.  Allen received a good education and excelled in sports.  He was an excellent rower, swimmer, and boxer. He held multiple records for a brief period of time.  He started to attend the  University of Virginia but dropped out due to a lack of finances.  He then tried to obtain a military career but failed to become a cadet at West Point.  These failures didn’t deter him though.  His heart’s desire was to become a writer.  He published his first book when he was only 18 years old (though it was not a literacy success).  He would move from city to city.  He would become a prominent author and a famous literary critic.  He would spend countless hours writing, often with his Siamese cat sitting on his shoulder (Poe was a lover of cats, his favorite was named Catterina).  Poe is considered to be America’s first professional author, though he struggled with severe during his life. Poe wrote many famous pieces of literature during his lifetime, but none were quite as renowned as the Raven.  This narrative poem was divided into 108 lines, consisting of 18 six-line stanzas.  The poem focuses on a heartbroken lover who was simply called the student.  He was mourning the loss of his dear love, Lenore.  The ‘student’ was visited by a raven, who tormented his soul with one single word, ‘nevermore.’  The nevermore showcased the fact that he would never see his sweet Lenore again.  The dark, looming, ominous birds symbolized the hopelessness of grief and loss.  

      This short poem speaks of how grief overcomes a person.  It drove the person in the poem to despair and total madness.  Grief does that.  Grief does not have a schedule.  It does not come and go as we would like it to.  It crashes into our life.  It does not have a set time frame.  Grief affects everyone differently.  When we think we are over it, the feeling comes again.  We try to fight against it but often find more defeat than victory.  Grieving is uncomfortable.  Little can quell that inner pain.  It is unavoidable.  We try to juggle the feelings of faith and fear, but it is often a balancing act that is far too hard for us.  Each of us has lost someone dear to us.  Maybe it’s a spouse, a parent, the tragic loss of a child, a pet, etc.  Grief is so unnatural for humans because we were created with eternity in our hearts.  God designed us to live forever.  But what are we to do when we face the dark raven of grief.  How can we respond to such a mighty enemy?  Charles Spurgeon once said that when grief presses you to the ground, worship God there.  But how can we worship God when our heart is broken seemingly beyond repair?  The Psalmist offers us some incredibly comforting words, he writes “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).”  We find an unbreakable promise from our reliable heavenly Father.  He is CLOSE to us when our heart is broken.  He is not far from us, He is not aloof, and He is not unaware.  He is near to us.  We might not always ‘feel’ His presence but this promises shows us that He is right there with us.  He goes through the valley of the shadow of death with us, not abandoning us.  He also doesn’t demand that we heal right away.  Grief doesn’t magically disappear overnight, nor will God leave you in those lonely moments.  He treks through life with us not when the sun is shining and life is merry.  He goes through the tears, the pains, the hurts, and the mud.  He will also rescue you from your crushed spirit.  Cry out to Him dear friend.  Cry out to Jesus and ask Him to come alongside you as you grieve.  The raven told the student the lone hopeless word of nevermore, nevermore to see his beloved again.  God’s nevermore is different.  God says nevermore will you grieve alone.  Nevermore will your tears be unseen and unnoticed.  Nevermore will grief overcome you to total despair because He is also there.

Exercising Godliness: January 23rd Devotional

Exercising Godliness

1st Timothy 4:8

January 23rd Devotional

      On this day in 2011, Jack LaLanne, the famous promoter of healthy living, died at 96. He was born, Francois Henri "Jack" LaLanne, in 1914 in San Francisco. His parents were both French immigrants. Jack's father died while he was young. His dad's premature death was simply attributed to not taking care of himself. Jack followed his father's example, calling himself a sugar addict. Jack was plagued with emotional issues along with poor health. Jack lost one year of schooling due to it. All of that changed at the age of 15. He listened to Paul Bragg, a revolutionary in the nutritional field, speak about diet and exercise. From that day forward Jack totally altered his way of life. Jack would go on to graduate with a Doctorate in the chiropractic field.  In 1936 he opened the first-ever fitness center in Oakland. The concept caught fire as countless others would be built. This revolutionized the fitness world. In 1953 he took his workout routine to television. He gave a fifteen workout lesson on the local news which he paid for with his own money. The show became a hit and became syndicated, coast to coast for thirty-four years, becoming the longest-ever running exercise program. He would go on to write books, produce videos, patent exercise equipment, and create a famous juicer. Jack religiously worked out until the day prior to his death.  

      Jack became the icon of healthy living and an evangelist of nutrition to countless millions of people across generations. Exercise and eating healthy are encouraged in the Bible. Our bodies are considered temples and we should be cautious with what we give them. The apostle Paul wrote in 1st Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things. But exercise does indeed have great profit for us but in comparison to our spiritual condition, it only has a small amount of benefit. No matter how well we take care of our bodies death will come against us. There is no avoiding it. There is no hiding from it. Healthy living might extend our lifespan but not extend our eternity. Paul encourages us to exercise godliness. What does godly exercise look like? Godly exercise is a life committed to prayer, the study of the scripture, serving the lord, and living a triumphant life in Jesus Christ. It entails our discipleship and our voice of evangelism. The exercise of godliness in our life as Christians is more profitable to those that are around us than ourselves. When we exercise godliness to our friends, family, and neighbors they see Christ living in us which in turn draws them to Jesus for eternal life. I encourage you to physically exercise but do not leave the spiritual man in neglect. How have you exercised godliness recently?

A Dark Day: January 22nd Devotional

A Dark Day

Proverbs 31:9

January 22nd Devotional

   On this day in 1973, the Supreme court ruled, 7-2, in favor of the case Roe V Wade, granting women the ‘legal right’ to have an abortion. This highly controversial case centered around a woman named Norma McCorvey, aka Roe. McCorvey was living in Texas when she married at the young age of sixteen. Tragically that relationship was mired with physical and mental abuse. It ended in a divorce and a young child that she was unable to care for due to her drug and alcohol addiction. She signed adoption papers to give her child to her mother and would shortly thereafter got pregnant again and sign that child over for adoption. A short period of time later she would become pregnant for the third time. Her friends encouraged her to seek an abortion but it was illegal in the state of Texas to have an abortion at the time unless it was to save the woman’s life. McCorvey stated falsely that she was raped and sought out an abortion clinic but it was closed by the local police. She then sought legal counsel from Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington who were purposefully seeking pregnant women who wanted an abortion so they could challenge the law in Texas. The trial took place in Dallas County against the District Attorney, Henry Wade, thus Roe V. Wade. The legal battle raged for three years until it reached the Supreme Court. By that time Norma had already given birth to her third child whom she put up for adoption. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Roe because of their interpretation of the fourteenth amendment, in which section one states “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”  The high court claimed that a ban against abortion limited a woman’s right to privacy. The original court decision was supposed to be a balance between a woman’s rights and prenatal life. The vote carried 7-2. The only two that dissented were Byron White and William Rehnquist. Surprisingly to most people, the court was 6-3 in favor of conservatives, five of the six republican presidential-appointed judges voted for Roe V. Wade.

      Nearly fifty years have passed since that decision, leaving over 62 million babies aborted.  Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, turning the issue of abortion back to the states.  Abortion is just a new term for infanticide. Ancient pagan Canaanite religions would often sacrifice babies for their gods. What does the Bible say about this practice? Is the Bible mute on this subject? Though the Bible does not use the term abortion it does speak about murder. Exodus 20:13 tells us "thou shalt not murder." Murder is simply the intentional taking of life from another person. The question then becomes when does human life start? Conception or birth? The Bible also speaks about this. God told the prophet Jeremiah that He knew him in his mother's womb. Meaning that prior to birth Jeremiah was, in the eyes of God, alive. Or you could look at the Psalms and find that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, pointing again to life at conception. The Bible obviously speaks about murder and without hesitation speaks about life being formed in the womb. Abortion and murder are different terms for the same thing. How do we as Christians respond to abortion? Proverbs 31:9 tells us to "open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." It is our duty to be advocates for life. Have you advocated for life? Loving single moms? Supporting your locally operated Christian pregnancy center? Giving a voice to the voiceless? Be a lifelong advocate for life.

Who Will Fight For us? January 16th Devotional

Who Will Fight For Us?
Deuteronomy 3:22

January 16th Devotional

      On this day in 1605 Miguel de Cervantes's book, “The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (better known simply as Don Quixote) was published.  Cervantes was a Spanish writer who struggled most of his life with poverty.  In his early twenties, he served as a soldier.  During one conflict his left hand became injured, which plagued him for the rest of his life.  Despite his injury, he continued to fight in the military.  At one time he was captured and held prisoner for five years.  His family was so poor that they were unable to pay the ransom requested for his release.  He became a tax collector after his military career.  Needless to say, this did not earn him many friends nor did it improve his reputation.  He was accused of misusing tax money and was thrown in jail two times. It was during the second imprisonment that the concept of Don Quixote came to him.  The story of Don Quixote follows a man named Alonso Quixano, a man nearly fifty years of man, of low Spanish nobility, who loved to read.  This mild-mannered man was known to allow his mind to wander into the world of fantasy, so much so that Alonso chooses to lead behind his normal life and become a knight errant seeking great quests and adventure.  He wears a laughable old set of armor, rides on a worn-out farm horse, and changes his name to Don Quixote.  Don creates a fictitious world around him where pubs become castles, farm women become ladies, and salesmen become cutthroats.  Along the way, Don Quixote convinces Pancho to be his squire and join in his adventure.  The most familiar scene in the book is when he fights windmills, thinking they are giants.  The book became extremely popular, so much so that he wrote a sequel to it in 1615.  Don Quixote is considered to be the first modern novel and is irreplaceable in his value to world literature.  Tragically Cervantes never received payment for his work on Don Quixote and died in poverty.  

      Cervantes created an iconic character in Don Quixote.  Quixote’s ambition was to fight for the weak, for the little guy.  Despite Don’s flamboyance for insanity, it’s hard not to love the heart of a person who is willing to fight for others.  The Bible speaks of God as our defender, as one who would fight for us.  In Deuteronomy 3:22 we find Moses encouraging Joshua with these words, “Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.”  Joshua was going to be tasked with a huge job, invading the land of Canaan.  The Israelites failed to take the land forty years earlier because they were afraid of the people in the land.  They said that they were mere grasshoppers compared to the giants in the land.  Moses reminded Joshua that it is God who fights the battle.  In a similar way, it is God who fights our battles today.  He fights the battles for our marriages, our families, the battles with our temptations and failures.  He fights spiritual battles that we aren’t even aware are going on around us.  Many of us get frustrated because we are living in constant spiritual defeat.  Is the reason why because we have chosen to fight the battle on our own?  Are we asking and allowing God to fight for us?  He is the undefeated champion, why not trust Him?  What battle is God fighting for you right now?  What battle do you need to give to Him?

Overcoming Defeat: January 15th Devotional

 

Overcoming Defeat

Psalm 27:13-14

January 15th Devotional

      On this day in 1967, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL-NFL World Championship Game (better known as the Super Bowl).  The game kicked off at 4:15 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.  This would be the first time that the two major football leagues would battle against each other for a championship.  The NFL was the established league, starting in 1920.  The AFL was an upstart league that was started in 1959.  Many viewed the AFL as a sub-par league.  Most of the players that were rejected by the NFL or went undrafted played in the AFL.  The Packers entered the game with only two losses.  They barely beat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL championship game.  They were coached by the famous Vince Lombardi.  Lombardi turned the Packers from a joke to a competitor.  They had won multiple NFL championships prior to the Super Bowl.  The team was led by Quarterback Bart Starr and a relentless defense.  Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs were coached by Hank Stram who found success at Purdue and the Chiefs.  The Chiefs were an offensive juggernaut.  They were the highest-scoring team in the AFL.  They beat the Buffalo Bills 31-7 in the AFL championship game.  They were led by Ken Dawson (a Purdue graduate) and a trifecta of running backs.  Mike Garrett, Bert Coan, and Curtis McClinton were all leading rushers in the AFL.  The coin toss was won by the Packers and the game started.  Both teams played incredibly physical football in the first half.  The Chiefs were projected to lose by 14 but held the Packers to a 14-10 lead at the half.  Early in the third quarter Packer Willie Ward intercepted Dawson and nearly scored a touchdown.  That spark uncorked the Packer's defense, scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half.  The Packers would win the first Super Bowl with a score of 35-10.   

      The Chiefs would not allow defeat to define them.  They would continue to compete and get better.  They would eventually win Super Bowl four over the highly favored Minnesota Vikings.  Defeat stinks in all areas of life.  None of us have ever played for an immaculate team.  Most of us remember our first defeat more than our first victory.  Defeats often live with us longer, hurt more, and leave deeper memories.  Defeat doesn’t just happen on a field or court, it affects us in every area.  It affects our jobs, our marriages, our parenting, our ministry, our walk with Jesus, etc.  We have all had to deal with the bitter taste of defeat.  We get knocked down.  David in Psalm 27 was dealing with those same feelings of defeat.  David was being aggressively pursued by his enemies, and it looked as if David’s life would end in defeat and despair.  But then David writes these comforting words “I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord (verses 13-14).”  David was down, but not out.  David took his eyes off his assailants and looked to God.  When his eyes of faith locked eyes with heaven he found God’s goodness.  Often in defeat, we struggle to find anything good, but beloved even when we fail and stumble we can still find God’s unfailing goodness.  We can also find courage and strength in the Lord.  Defeat saps our strength, and rightfully so.  We are spiritually defeated because we tried to do something on our own, something independent of the Lord.  In our exhaustion we find our hearts strengthened because we have looked to God.  Are you feeling defeated?  Are you finding yourself succumbing to temptation more and more?  Then look to the goodness of God and find the courage to not give up or give in. 

I Am New: January 9th Devotion

 I am New

2nd Corinthians 5:17

January 9th Devotional

     On this day in 2007, Steve Jobs came on stage at the MacWorld Convention to announce his newest project.  Jobs in his traditional blue jeans and black long-sleeve shirt teased the audience that Apple was introducing three new products, when in fact it was only one new product, the iPhone.  The iPhone was in the design phase for years at Apple.  Apple had invented a huge financial success in the iPod but quickly realized that people would tire of carrying the iPod and a phone.  Why not connect the two and make one device?  Apple tried to make a deal with Motorola in order to put iTunes on their device but too many problems arose and it became a flop.  At the same time, Jobs had teams working to get rid of the most awkward part of the computer system, the house.  The goal was to abandon the mouse and create a touchscreen device, which would eventually become the iPad.  Steve Jobs then created a project called “Project Purple.”  Jobs hand-picked his team which he broke into two separate teams.  This team was sworn to secrecy.  As a matter of fact, none of the team members knew what they were going to work on when they were initially assigned the job.  They worked tirelessly for months to create the newest software and technology available at the time.  The phone was revolutionary because it abandoned the keypad that every other device was using at that time.  The iPhone was released in July 2007 and since then has sold over 2.2 billion devices.  In 2019 alone Apple made $142 billion in profit from the iPhone alone.  Jobs said at MacWorld that Apple was going to “Re-invent the Phone” and indeed they did.  It’s almost hard to imagine a world where we did not have touch screens and the ability to be constantly connected.  

      One single invention changed the world in which we live.  Jobs and the Apple company changed something that was old and made it new.  The Bible speaks about someone who comes to change the old things in our lives and to make us new also.  In 2^nd Corinthians 5:17, Paul writes “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”  Paul talks about the old becoming new, what does he mean by that?  Paul is talking about our lives that are crushed under the weight of our sins.  He is talking about our former passions, priorities, and plans.  Those things are in the past, they are what used to define us, but those things have passed away.  They are in the past, no longer on the horizon.  Paul says that now that ‘new things have come.’  What new things?  Things like eternal life, things like our future planning, goals, aspirations, etc.  We no longer live for the temporal things of this world which are also passing away, but instead, we look forward to the eternal, to that which is greater, and to that which is new.  Paul quantifies this statement by saying that we first must be ‘in Christ.’  We must be saved.  As believers that are in Jesus Christ, we will struggle with the battle between the old man and the new man.  Those previous passions and pursuits will pop up from time to time, but we can rejoice knowing that Christ has made all things new…including us.  Jobs re-invented the phone, Christ re-invented our present and future through His sacrifice.

Embattled Embarrassment: January 8th Devotional

Embattled Embarrassment

January 8th Devotional

Psalm 25:2

      On this day in 1992, President George H. W. Bush got ‘sick’ on Japanese Prime Minister, Kiichi Miyazawa.  President Bush was visiting Asia on a 12-day tour speaking about the value of trade with America.  He also wanted to focus on certain policies in the Pacific region.  Earlier that day President Bush played doubles tennis against the Emperor of Japan and his son.  The president was defeated, but his greatest defeat in Japan would not be on the tennis court, but at a meal hosted by the Japanese Prime Minister at his own home in Tokyo.  The first and second course was just served (the 2^nd course was raw salmon with caviar) and the President was supposed to give a few remarks afterward, but he ended up fainting into the lap of the Prime Minister and ‘getting sick.'  Martha Bush along with the secret service quickly attended to the president.  Attending doctors determined that the president had an attack of acute gastroenteritis, and would feel well enough by the next afternoon to resume his regularly scheduled tour.  As you can imagine, the incident made the news, publicly humiliating President Bush.  It became instant fodder as almost every late-night program made fun of the incident.  It also complicated President Bush’s run for reelection.  President Bush was 67 at that time and was running against a much younger Democratic candidate named Bill Clinton, who was only 46.  The news media claimed that President Bush was too old to be president and that his health was failing.  This event, along with other embarrassments would cost President Bush a second term in office.  

      This single embarrassing event cast a long shadow on the President.  None of us are exempt from experiencing embarrassment, even presidents are part of the crowd.  Each of us can recall times when we fumbled over our words, tripped on our own feet, thought you know a stranger (or worse yet, not knowing a person who knows you), etc.  I can vividly recall leaving Lowes and trying to get into a car that looked just like mine, but it wasn’t mine.  Not only wasn’t it my car, an alarmed elderly couple sat in the car looking at me with wonder in their eyes. In those moments it feels like every eye is upon you and your face begins to turn red.  You wish you could crawl under a table and hide.  Sometimes embarrassing moments aren’t that big of a deal, but there are times when embarrassment and shame are very real.  Each Christian has committed spiritual blunders in our walk with Jesus, and each of us has done things that bring reproach to our testimony.  What do we do in those moments of giving in to sin?  Do we allow that shame to define us and defeat us?  Do we allow that embarrassment to cause us to regress in our walk with Christ?  Or worse yet, we allow the shame of our life prior to coming to Jesus to affect our pursuit of Christlikeness.  What are we do to?  First, we need to take ownership for what we did.  We can’t be cavalier with our sin.  Our embarrassing moments don’t go away by simply ignoring them.  But after we take ownership for what we did, we go to God for forgiveness and He washes us clean.  We then replace those shame-filled thoughts with Bible thoughts filled with hope.  The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 25:2 “I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame nor let my enemies triumph over me.”  One of the first steps we take as we walk away from that shame is trusting God and listening to what God says, not what others say. You aren’t that person anymore, that past doesn’t define you any longer.  Don’t allow others' words to take up residency in your heart and mind, instead fill the vacancy with trust.  Also, allow joy to replace shame.  Psalm 34:5 says “those who look to him for help will be radiant with JOY, no shadow of shame will darken their faces.”  We have no room for shame when the joy of Jesus overflows into our lives.  Friend, don’t be defined by embarrassment and shame, be defined by who you are in Jesus Christ.

A Tongue on Fire: January 2nd Devotional

A Tongue on Fire

January 2nd Devotional

James 3:1-12
 

      On this day in 1906 thirty-year-old, Willis Carrier was awarded the first ever patent for what we would now call Air Conditioning.  Willis was born in Angola New York in 1876 and would go on to graduate with an Electrical Engineering degree from Cornell University.  Right after college, he joined the Buffalo Forge Company, a company that specialized in blacksmithing, drilling equipment, steam engines, and pumps.  It didn’t take Carrier very long to become the chief engineer of the company.  One foggy day in 1902 Carrier was standing on a train platform in Pittsburgh when an idea came to him on how to control the relative humidity in the air.  He busily started to sketch, plan, and build.  His invention was a success and was quickly installed at the Buffalo Forge company along with countless other businesses.  The Buffalo Forge Company allowed him to create another branch of their company specifically focused on manufacturing his air conditioning units but Carrier broke away in 1915 to create the Carrier Corporation.  His business thrived until the great depression struck.  Many residential homes simply could not afford the luxury of air conditioning but all of that changed in the 1950s.  The installation of Air Conditioning units started to become the norm in the post-WW II era.  It’s hard for many of us to imagine a world where there was no air conditioning.  It’s hard to fathom not having the ability to hit the dial and lower the temperature during those hot summer days.  Try to envision going shopping with no AC, working with no AC, having a car with no AC, going to school with no AC, to go to a movie theater with no AC.  We might not be cranking the air conditioner on during most January days but in a few months we will be grateful for that cool air.  I for one am grateful for the “Father of Air conditioning.”  

      Some of you can recall a time when your air conditioner wasn’t working.  Your AC never quits on the coolest day of the year, but instead, it always seems to give out on the hottest day.  The Bible talks about staying cool when times are hot too.  James in 3:1-12 speaks a lot about the tongue.  He makes it clear that our tongue is a small part of our body but it can get us into A LOT of trouble.  It’s hard to control the tongue, especially when emotions flare up.  When anxiety, stress, and anger strike us we typically lose our cool and our tongue becomes a burning fire.  As a matter of fact, James 3:6 says “And the tongue is a fire.”  How is the tongue like a fire?  Like a fire, our tongues can burn and damage other people.  We would hate to see how many people and how many times our tongue has done damage.  We would be despondent to realize how many times we failed to encourage someone, love someone, or build someone up.  How many times have we been overly critical of someone?  How many times have we failed to compliment our spouse or lift up our child?  Our tongues can burn and defile other people.  We need to be resolved that when the heat rises around us that not just cooler heads but cooler tongues need to prevail.