I bet you have all used them sometime in your life, maybe even every day.  Leo Gerstenzang, who was born in Poland on June 3, 1892, invented the cotton swab.  He sold them under the name "Baby Gays."  We know them as Q-tips, but did you know that the Q stands for "quality?"  And despite doctors' warnings, I bet most of you stick them in your ears.  But sticking a spiritual Q-tip in your figurative ears is a good idea.

            Jesus once made a statement that has always made me flinch.  After the parable of the sower, when listing all the various soils and what went wrong with each hearer, he added, as Luke records it, Be careful therefore, how you hear, 8:18.  In a society big on blaming everyone but ourselves for our problems, this is truly one of the biggest.  Unlike the early church, which seemed to thrive on helping each other overcome problems with confessions and exhortations, we seem to think that no one has the right to tell us anything that might even slightly indicate that we might need to change.  Or we “wear our feelings on our shirtsleeves,” as the old saying goes, so we can be offended at the least provocation.

              Jesus makes it plain in this passage that how I take what people say to me is entirely up to me.  It only makes sense when you think about it.  If I had no control over my reactions to what others say, then it would be to my advantage for people to say hurtful things to me, wouldn’t it?  In fact, getting my feelings hurt would be the ideal way to go.  Then I could be angry and strike back with no qualms at all. 

              I could ignore the rebukes others offered for my sins as long as I felt insulted, and could keep doing them, couldn’t I?  But Paul says in Rom 2:6 that God will render to every man according to his deeds, not according to how someone corrected me.

              I could ignore the one who tells me I am wrong about what I believe if I thought he had evil motives and bad intentions, couldn’t I?  But Paul also says of those who preached with bad intentions, What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed and therein I rejoice, Phil 1:19.

             I could hear false teaching and not have to worry about checking it out, right?  But Jesus said in Matt 15:14, they are blind guides and if the blind guide the blind, they both fall into a pit.

              So here is my obligation:  Listen to what others say, and evaluate it based upon truth, not upon how they say it, who they are, and whether or not I like them or their teaching.  Judgment Day will not dawn with three groups of people, including a group who “got their feelings hurt,” or “didn’t like the preacher,” or “were provoked,” and because of that did not do what they should have done.

              There will only be two groups:  the ones who did right and the ones who did not.  Let’s get out those Q-tips and clean out our ears.  Be careful how you hear.
 
He who corrects a scoffer gets to himself reviling, and he who reproves a wicked man gets himself a blot.  Reprove a scoffer and he will hate you; reprove a wise man and he will love you.  Give instruction to a wise man and he will be even wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning, Prov 9:7-9
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who is wise listens to counsel. Prov 12:15
 
Dene Ward

Nathan has done the impossible—he has turned me into a baseball fan.  Admittedly I don’t watch but one team, the Rays, but that’s still a lot more than I ever watched before. 

            Now that I know more about the game, the statistics mean more too.  I recently ran across this one:  On June 2, 1922, Stuffy (John Phelan) McInnis, a first baseman for the Indians, ended an errorless streak of 1700 chances.  That means 1700 times in a row he caught every ball or tagged every player or threw every ball straight to get a man out.  The streak began in 1921 when he was still with the Red Sox, and ended 163 games later.  I have watched games this year alone where a Gold Glove winner had two or more errors in a single game.

            All Stuffy McInnis had to rely on was himself and his own unaided ability.  Why is it that we can’t run rings around this statistic?  Why can’t we go more than a single day without a sin?  “But I’m only human,” I keep hearing, and yes, I understand the concept of being too sure of oneself (1 Cor 10:12).  But it isn’t me I am counting on, is it?

            No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13)  Tell me, don’t you think God is faithful?

            Who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  (1 Pet 1:5)  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  (2 Cor 10:4)  Do you doubt the power of God?

            Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials… (2 Pe 2:9).  Do you think God doesn’t know what he is doing?

            Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, (Jude 24).  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.  (Heb 7:25)  Are you questioning God’s ability?

            Yes, those passages speak of things we have to do too, but if you think what you do is the main ingredient in overcoming sin, you are already thinking too highly of yourself.  When we try to overcome sin, it isn’t our own skill we are counting on, it’s the power of God.  He has promised he will help us and that nothing will happen that we cannot handle.  He has promised us everything we need, every weapon available, to fight the adversary, and he has promised that those weapons are more than sufficient to get us through any ordeal.  If we don’t make it, it’s because we forgot to rely on him and his help.  We may never go 1700 chances without a sin, but surely we can do better than we have in the past.

            Stuffy McInnis got his nickname because every time he made an amazing defensive play people said, “That’s the stuff!”  God has all the “stuff” we need.  Now let’s get out there and use it.
 
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5
 
Dene Ward