“300”

 

300 is a familiar number, especially in sports:

*A baseball player is considered a good hitter if his batting average is .300

*A pitcher is almost always assured of a place in the Hall of Fame if he reaches 300 career wins (24 have achieved this milestone in Major League history)

*30 pitchers have reached the 300 save milestone

*Three NFL coaches have accumulated 300 victories (George Halas, Don Shula and Bill Belichick)

*300 (12 straight strikes) is a perfect game in bowling (I haven’t come close!)

*300 is a terrible golf score (thankfully I haven’t come close here either!)

*In a non-sports area, 300 is the lowest possible Fair Isaac credit score

*300 years ago (1720) the three most populous cities in the American Colonies were Boston (12,000), Philadelphia (10,000) and New York (7,000). (In 2019 New York at #1 was home to 8,337,000; Philadelphia #6 with 1,584,000 residents and Boston #23 at 693,000.)

Probably the most familiar 300 in Scripture is the account of “Gideon’s 300” in Judges 6 and 7. Two other occurrences I found are Samson’s capture of 300 foxes and using them to destroy Philistine fields as an act of retaliation recorded in Judges 15:1-5 and “…Enoch walked with God 300 years….” (Genesis 5:22). Some scholars maintain that the number refers to divine deliverance. In Gideon’s case he was called by the angel of the Lord to lead Israel’s army against Midian. After the “fleece test” (Judges 6:36-40) Gideon assumed leadership of a force of 32,000 soldiers which God whittled down to 300 so that “…Israel may not boast…that her own strength had saved her….” (Judges 7:2). Using unlikely military equipment of trumpets, jars and torches God won a great victory and set the Israelites free from their enemy. The story illustrates how seemingly insignificant instruments, including people like you and me, can be used to fulfill His purposes as they’re given to Him (“…God chose the foolish…weak…lowly…despised…so that no one may boast before him.”—1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

On a personal note, this is Article #300 since I began writing this column six years ago. I thank God for putting the thoughts in my mind and guiding their transition to words on a page. I’ve been blessed to have this opportunity and pray that others may benefit. “To (God) be the glory and the power for ever and ever.” (1 Peter 4:11).

 

Grace and Blessings! 

                                                                 Jim McMillan 

"The Pod Patrol"

 

“The Pod Patrol”

 

Part of my morning routine (along with “lollygaggin’”) is going on the “pod patrol”. We inherited a large southern magnolia tree when we bought our house which blooms beautifully but briefly from mid-spring through early summer. Once the flowers fade seed pods remain on the branches then fall to the ground in great abundance which necessitates the “pod patrol” to keep our lawn and street from becoming messy and hazardous. (I keep count for the fun or OCD of it and a couple of years ago the total was 4003!) Former neighbors told me they thought about getting one but when they saw me on my pick-up rounds they decided to enjoy ours! I’m glad we could be of service!

As I went about this daily task recently I thought about how it pictures our walk with Christ. In order to experience the blessings He wants to bring we have to pick up and dispose of life’s pods which can threaten our well-being in Him. I don’t know if there were southern magnolias or similar trees in ancient Israel but if there were King David may have had them in mind when he prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24). (I pray this most mornings to keep my accounts up to date.) Just as the pods are small but can be very annoying and damaging so can the “little sins” in our lives, which is likely why David’s son Solomon wrote, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.” (Song of Songs 2:15) and the reason the author of Hebrews counseled his readers (and us) to “…throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1).

Hummingbirds are the smallest known birds (there are 488 kinds of them, all native to the Western Hemisphere) which we admire and even attract to our yards. However, their small size belies their fierce temperament. Such is the nature of small sins—they can be attractive but make our lives ugly before God and those around us. A line in an old hymn by J. Edwin Orr based on the Psalm 139 prayer cited above says, “Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.” May I ask this of God when I’m on “pod patrol”.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"Lollygaggin'"

 

“Lollygaggin’”

 

One of the perks of retirement is on most days we don’t have to be someplace at a set time. (The COVID-19 crisis has contributed to this trend.) Karen and I have developed this into an art form known as “lollygaggin’”. The Urban Dictionary defines the term as “wasting time, mostly by doing insignificant tasks for personal amusement”. Other renderings include dawdling, loitering, idleness, laziness and vegging. While these meanings aren’t offensive (but maybe a tad unproductive) in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries the word referred to certain immoral actions so it wasn’t used in polite company, Since the primary meaning has changed for the better over the years we’ll continue to use it to describe our morning activity (or lack thereof).

While “lollygaggin’” may bring a bit of humor (Karen has claimed it as a spiritual gift but I can’t find it in any of the biblical lists) there’s an area in which we must avoid it: our walk with Christ. Our Lord’s friend and Apostle wrote, “This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:6, emphasis added). How did He walk? In obedience to His Father (“…I always do what pleases him.”—John 8:29); in urgency (“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”—John 9:4, NKJV, emphasis added); and in love (“…Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us….”—Ephesians 5:2, emphasis added). Since He’s our Savior and our example (“Christ, who suffered for you, is your example.”) we must “Follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21, NLT, emphasis added). This means “spiritual lollygaggin’” is out and His Lordship is in.

“Lollygaggin’” provides time to read, talk, pray and recharge our batteries so it has value as we seek balance in life’s demands and challenges. It’s worked for us—why not slow down a bit and give it a shot?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"Getting the Message"

 

“Getting the Message”

 

One of our Florida Sunday School teachers (now with the Lord) shared about stopping at a convenience store for gas. While he was filling up two motorcyclists pulled up to the next pump. He felt God was telling him to speak to the bikers but he didn’t do it. So God told him a second time and he did nothing except get back into his pick-up. As he was preparing to drive away he heard God’s voice clearly: “I’m not going to tell you again to speak to those men!” He got the message, climbed out of his vehicle and had a good conversation in which he was able to share his faith. He never knew the result (that was in God’s hands) but he learned the value of obeying a summons from God.

I can think of at least three people in Scripture to whom God had to tell something three times. (There’s one to whom He had to give His instructions five times before he obeyed—his name is Moses and you can read his story in Exodus 3-4.) Samuel was just a boy when God called him and with Eli’s help he answered after the third time, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10). Peter didn’t fully understand what he’d done until after his third denial of knowing Jesus and when he remembered His prediction that he’d do this “…he went outside and wept bitterly.” (Matthew 26:75). Later the Lord had to repeat a vision to him that the gospel was for the Gentiles as well as the Jews three times before he said, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism….” (Acts 10:34—read the entire chapter to see the full account). And Paul three times asked for his thorn in the flesh to be removed before hearing Jesus say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) and was assured that God’s strength would carry him through his struggle.

These incidents show a question I must ask myself: How many times does God have to speak before I get and heed His message? May I be like Peter and Andrew and James and John who “…at once…without delay….” followed Jesus when He called them (Mark 1:17-20). And may I answer David’s (and God’s) question, “Who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?” (1 Chronicles 29:5, emphasis added) with, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan