As a toddler Silas had a bedtime ritual.  First you read “Pajama Time” to him.  Then you gave him a cup of milk and then his blanket.  Then it was time to walk all over the house looking for “Puppy,” his stuffed dog and bedtime buddy.  Daddy had “hidden” it somewhere and he had to find it. 

            So the two of them searched, Silas trailing his blanket as he walked.  “Is that Puppy?”  Daddy asked when they saw a stuffed elephant.  Silas shook his head no.  “Is that Puppy?” and another shake of the head at the sock monkey.  And another at the teddy bear, and another, and another.  Finally, they found Puppy right where Daddy had placed him.  “Is that Puppy?” he asked one more time, and Silas would nod yes and hold out his hands for the proffered pet.  Then the thumb went into the mouth and the baby went into the bed, perfectly content.

            One Christmas Eve, things did not work out so well.  Silas had already had three naps due to the journey to grandma’s house and the various family stops along the way.  He was wired by the excitement of lights and presents and people.  Still, his eyes began to droop so the routine started, but when Puppy was “found” and Daddy asked, “Is that Puppy?” Silas looked at it and shook his head no.  He had decided he did not want to go to bed, and as long as he couldn’t find Puppy he thought he wouldn’t have to. 

After several more attempts, Daddy threw Puppy across the room to him.  Silas looked down when the stuffed animal landed with a soft plop.  Then he picked it up, shook his head no, and threw it back to Daddy.  No Puppy, no bedtime.  Of course, he found out differently, and not in the usual easy way.

We can all look at that childish attempt to deny the truth of the situation and smile.  Isn’t that cute?  And pretty smart for a sixteen month old.  But only for a sixteen month old.

Have you ever known someone who was ill and refused to go to the doctor?  As long as it isn’t diagnosed, that pain or that lump or that persistent cough isn’t anything bad.  I am not sick.  I am certainly not dying.  We look on such people with pity.  But we do it to ourselves all the time.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, James 1:22.

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself, Gal 6:3.

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap, Gal 6:7.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, 1 John 1:8.

            For some reason we think we can pretend our way into Heaven.  As the Pharisees who “for a pretense make long prayers” Matt 12:40, we think we can sit in the pew on Sunday, call ourselves Christians to our neighbors, and that’s all it takes to make it so.  You might be surprised how many have already figured us out because that is also part of deceiving ourselves.

            “But we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation,” Heb 6:9.  I doubt anyone reading this really needs this lesson.  Let it just be a little reminder not to fall into that trap.

            The world, though, is still deceiving itself.  It thinks that if it denies the existence of God that will make it so.  Denying God means no accountability.  It means I can live as I want without worrying about the consequences, such a comforting thought that it is easy to see why so many fall for it, regardless the increasing evidence of a Divine Creator. 

            Yet the world can shake its head all it wants.  It can pick up the Puppy and throw it back, but nighttime will still come, and they will learn to believe the hard way, when it is much too late.
 
Because he hath stretched out his hand against God, And behaves himself proudly against the Almighty; Because he has covered his face with his fatness, And gathered fat upon his loins; He shall not depart out of darkness; The flame shall dry up his branches, And by the breath of God’s mouth shall he go away. Let him not trust in vanity, deceiving himself; For vanity shall be his recompense. For the company of the godless shall be barren, and fire shall consume the tents of bribery. They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity, And their heart prepares deceit, Job 15:25,27,30,31,34,35.
 
Dene Ward
 

Keith mentioned a few weeks ago that Sonny James had died. 

            “Who?” I asked.
           
            “You know—‘Running Bear,’ and ‘Young Love’—the country singer.”

            Ah!  “Running Bear” I remembered.  It was on the radio nearly every day for a while when I was a young teen.  Sonny James was born on May 1, 1928,  Keith found an article and there it was all set out for us:  26 #1 hit singles and 16 #1 hits in a row.  He still holds the record for consecutive #1 hits by any solo recording artist throughout all musical genres.  And I couldn’t remember who he was!

            So, I got to thinking and, it being just passed, I looked up the Oscar winners.  Tell me, do you know who Warren Baxter was?  He won the 1930 Best Actor Oscar for his role in “In Old Arizona.”  I never even heard of the movie.  How about Paul Lukas?  He won in 1944.  Don’t tell me, “But that’s so long ago.”  It hasn’t even been a hundred years.  It certainly isn’t ancient history.

            How about nominees?  Let’s just sit awhile in the Best Actress category.  Ruth Chatterton?  Betty Compson? Jeanne Eagels?  They were nominated in 1928.  May Robson and Diana Wynyard?  They came along in 1932.  Martha Scott?  That was 1941, and Celia Johnson was nominated in 1945.  Okay, let’s make it easier.  How about 1966?  That was Ida Kaminska.  I still never heard of her.  Marie-Christine Barrault was nominated in 1976.  Surely you know her?  Here’s an easy one—1989.  Most of you were probably born by then.  Ever hear of Pauline Collins?  Me neither.

            I bet I could do the same thing with Emmys, Tonys, Grammys, and how about Heisman awards?  Do you see the point?  A huge percentage of these people will never be remembered by anyone just a few years from now.  Acting is not that important in the grand scheme of things.  Touchdown passes, slam dunks, and home runs don’t really matter.  Why, oh why, do we lavish our praise and adoration on these people?  Why do we wear their colors and their numbers, dress like they do, talk like they do, and want their signatures on hats and shirts and napkins?

            Think for a minute: who do we remember?  How about a widow who sewed for the poor in the town of Joppa?  How about a Christian couple who were chased out of Rome for being of Jewish extraction, but who kept traveling preachers in their home and even helped teach them and anyone else who came along, even at the risk of death?  How about a wealthy woman in Jerusalem who allowed the church to meet in her home in the midst of a dangerous persecution so they could pray for those in prison?  How about a disciple in Damascus who took his life into his hands to preach to one of the church’s worst persecutors?  How about yet another one who was known for his encouraging ways, who traveled and preached and took young preachers under his wing till they could grow to be mature servants of God?

            I bet you know every one of their names and can find their stories in your Bible.  These are the things that last.  These are the things that no one will forget.  These are the things that will make a difference to lives, and more than that, to eternal souls. 

            And most of these are things we can do, too.  Do you want to be remembered?  Put down the football.  Throw down the novel.  Turn off the DVD.  Pull out the earbuds.  Now go out there and do good to whomever you find, everywhere you can.  You will be remembered—by many, and especially by the One who counts.
 
​…Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ​For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also…for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.  Luke 12:33-34; 16:15.
 
Dene Ward

P S--Happy birthday son!