All marriages are happy! It’s the living together afterward that causes all the trouble!! There is a scientific law called the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This law states that any closed system left to itself, tends toward breakdown and decay. It takes a demanding input of energy to keep anything together. This can be readily seen with a house. Any homeowner knows that to maintain a house one must daily, monthly, and yearly invest time and energy to keep the house enjoyable to live in. If no energy is spent on the house it eventually comes to the point of needing a complete overhaul or else it will be knocked down. Although it is a law designed to describe material systems, the Second Law of Thermodynamics seems to describe other systems too. For example, let’s consider the marital relationship. It demands daily, weekly, monthly, yearly investment of time, maintenance, and focus for it to be a strong relationship. If no maintenance is exuded eventually the marriage needs a total overhaul or else it will be demolished. It is a wise couple who will maintain their marriage by investing into it. Rather than waiting for a complete overhaul in a counselor’s office or a total knockdown in a courtroom they daily invest into each other’s life. Just a side note: this law proves that the theory of evolution is bogus, because nothing just automatically improves over time, on its own. People, places, things require maintenance or they deteriorate. With the rising divorce rate there is evidence that the marriage bond is being greatly neglected on both sides. The husband is not putting the time into his wife that he did before they got married and the wife is not as energetic toward her husband as she was when they were dating. Many people have forgotten the work they put into dating, the sacrifice of time, money, friends, and family that was expressed to please and impress each other. Listen, a marriage cannot relax the dating momentum. It must continue just on a more mature and lasting level. Maintenance is required. A positive attitude and a sweet spirit must be prevalent. I will be the first to say that marriage is work, a very productive work. I like how one person put it: marriage is like a violin; it doesn’t work without the strings and when the music stops the strings are still attached. Even if your marriage was made in heaven it is still your responsibility to maintain it, invest into it, and love it. I married LaDonna on Saturday July 31, 1971, which is 45 years ago and together we weathered every storm. With the passing years I have learned to love her more than when we were young and innocent. The trials and tests we have experienced together have drawn us closer and made us stronger. We enjoy being together at home, helping one another, our children, our grandchildren, going out, and worshipping God together. To get to this point, a lot of maintenance was required, but it has been worth it all. For more info you can visit us at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com. A farmer was having trouble with a flock of crows devouring the corn in his corn field so he loaded his shotgun and crawled quietly into the pasture determined to get a shot at them. The farmer had a very sociable parrot who made friends with everybody. Seeing the flock of crows on a fence, the parrot flew over and joined them just to be sociable. The farmer spotted the crows but didn’t see his parrot. He took careful aim and POW! The farmer ran over to pick up the fallen crows and, lo-and-behold, there lay his parrot. He was badly ruffled with a broken wing, but was still alive. Tenderly, the farmer carried the parrot home where his children met him. Seeing their pet badly injured, they tearfully quizzed, “Papa, what happened?” Before the farmer could get a word out, the parrot muttered, “Bad Company! Bad Company!” Many young people have made the mistake of hanging with the wrong persons. And because of it, their lives have never been the same. Their path took a zig instead of a zag and they were forever branded. It is an accurate statement: we are known by the company we keep. Our lives are shaped and our destinies formed by the company we hang with. My dad use to tell me, “Son, birds of a feather flock together.” As a young boy I didn’t fully understand, but now that I am older I know exactly what he was saying. This applies even to our leaders: “If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his servants are wicked” (Proverbs 29:12). The story has been told of a good young man who had a bright future. His name was Sam. He was athletic, helped his parents around the house, and enjoyed school. People often discussed how vast his future was. But Sam had a weakness: he couldn’t say no to anybody especially his peers. He just wanted to be accepted by all so he would go along with the guys to be sociable. One night while hanging with his buds, one of the guys mentioned old Miss Harris. She lived just down the street by herself, went to bed early, and was hard of hearing. It would be easy to sneak into her house while she was asleep, take some of her valuables, and she would never know it. The guys agreed, but Sam felt sick in his stomach about the whole thing. Because he didn’t want to be a wimp, he quietly went along. Sam knew it wasn’t right, but his pride got in the way. That night when they snuck into her house something went terribly wrong. Miss Harris was not in bed but was watching T.V. When she saw the boys she screamed, so to quiet her, one of the guys hit her with a glass vase. In the hysteria another boy slammed her to the floor kicking her. The guys ransacked her house and left with some valuables, but what they didn’t know: Miss Harris was dead. After an investigation, the boys were caught and indicted for robbery and murder. Sam did not inflict her death, but because he was with bad company his future was forever destroyed. For more info you can visit us at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com. Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between a spotlight and a laser beam? How can a medium power laser burn through steel in a matter of seconds, while the most powerful spotlight can only make it warm? Both may have the same electrical power requirements, but their difference is unity. A laser beam can simply be described as a medium of excited molecules with mirrors at each end. Some of the excited molecules naturally decay into a less excited state. In the decay process they release a photon, a particle of light. It is here that the unique process of the laser begins. The photon moves along and “tickles” another molecule, inviting another photon to join him on his journey. Then these two photons “tickle” two more molecules and invite two more photons to join the parade. Soon there is a huge army of photons marching in step with each other. It is this unity that gives the laser its power. A spotlight may have just as many photons, but each is going its own way occasionally interfering with other photons. As a result, much of its power is wasted and cannot be focused to do dynamic work. However, the laser, because of its unity, is like an army marching in tight formation and is able to focus all its power on its objective. The conclusion: there is power in unity. In our flesh, bones, and organs there are a variety of cells. There are nerve cells, blood cells, and many more each having a distinct function. Our body operates smoothly not because the cells get together and vote on what to do, but because each one does what it was designed to do. The function of our head is to bring all these different cells together so our body operates efficiently according to each member’s design. Our bodies would not operate properly if each cell chose to go its own way. Know what we call rebellion of the cells in our stomach? Indigestion. A revolt of our brain cells is called insanity. Anytime the cells in our body do not operate properly we feel it and become sick and know there is something wrong. Now let’s bring it on down home. Many of the problems in our family, on the job, in the church, and in our nation are the direct result of disunity. Each one of us has a distinct purpose to bring unity and stability to our particular placement. And when we step out of our design or even refuse to do our job there are serious consequences. There is a breakdown in the system resulting in major maladies sometimes even death. We must operate in the capacity we have been placed in so there will be unity, health, strength, and progress. Every employer, manager, supervisor, or proprietor desires and hungers for such an experience. If every person will operate according to their job description with focus there will be more efficiency and much less waste. The purpose of our ear is to help our eye, and the hand to help our foot, and our nose our mouth. This is focus at its best. For more info you can visit us at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com. |
Pastor J.C. Myers, III
Pastor J.C. founded Joy Christian Ministries in 1992. He was Sr. Pastor at Joy Christian Ministries in West Sacramento, California from 1992-2016. He was succeeded by his 2nd son, Pastor Brandon Myers who had been under his father's ministry and teaching for 39 years. Archives
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