17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.  2 Corinthians 4:17 (NKJV)

“In the Perspective of Eternity�

By Bro. John L. Cash, “Country Preacher Dad�

The Bible teaches us that bad things are bound to happen in this fallen world but that we’ve got to keep it all in perspective. It’s all going to work out in the long run—especially if you reckon the “long run� to be the time of eternity.

In today’s Scripture verse (at the top), St. Paul has a wonderful way of explaining the sufferings we face in this present life. First of all, he says our  present afflictions are “lightâ€�. Now they certainly don’t feel like they’re light when we’re going through them. But Paul says we compare the pain of our present problems with the glory we’ll receive when we see Jesus—well, there’s really no comparison. The joy will be so great that the troubles of this life will not even be remembered.

The other thing Paul says about our hard times is that they only last “for a momentâ€�. Again, our afflictions don’t feel like they’re short when we’re going through them. But when we compare the time we spend in suffering now to the infinite time of eternity that we’ll spend with God, well, our troubles are “shortâ€� indeed.

The importance perspective is not just something we read about but also something we deal with every day. Whenever you rip off a band-aid, you know it’s going to hurt for a second but then you’ll have the joy of looking at the place where your wound is now healed. Whenever the surgeon says he’s going to yank out those drain tubes, you know there’s going to be a sharp tug and a sting but then you can put on your clothes and go home. Whenever the nurses come in to tear off all that adhesive tape, you know it’s going to smart, but afterwards you can leave ICU and see your family. It’s just a matter of keeping the right perspective.

Perhaps the place where we see this perspective most clearly is the birth of a child. Yes, there’s the pain of labor and delivery, but. after the last “push,â€� all the pain is forgotten. The pain is forever forgotten and replaced with joy over the new life the Lord has sent into the world—the world has been blessed with a new baby.

Dear mamas, let’s keep things in proper perspective this week. Jesus is with us in our trials—which one day will be over and seem inconsequential when we see Him in glory. Let’s live this week with eternity’s values in view.

(Thanks to Melinda Worthington of MJW Photography for allowing us to use one of her favorite newborn baby shots to illustrate this post.)

Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.� He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and is in the middle of his 25th year of being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi.  He and his lovely wife, Susan, and his sons, Spencer (age 18) and Seth (age 15) live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where the Preacher’s chest hair is still missing big patches that he lost to the adhesive tape of his recent excellent treadmill test.) He would love to hear from you in an email sent to extramailbox@juno.com.

17 ¶ Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”  Genesis 3:17-19 (NKJV)

“Christmas Carols Every Day�

By Bro. John L. Cash, “Country Preacher Dad�

On Sunday nights at our little country church, the people sitting in the pews take turns calling out requests for songs that they want the congregation to sing. People pick out songs they like, and we sing them until it’s time for me to preach. My older son, Spencer, usually picks out “It Is Well With My Soul” or a Christmas carol–even if it’s the middle of July. I guess he just likes Christmas carols. And that’s OK with me, especially if he wants to sing “Joy to the World”.

Did you know that, in some ways, “Joy to the World” is not a Christmas carol? Most of the other Christmas carols are taken from the New Testament and tell of the Gospel account of the birth of the Christ child.

But  “Joy to the World” is not a New Testament song. It’s actually based on an Old Testament text–Psalm 98 to be exact. And when Isaac Watts wrote the hymn, he wasn’t writing a song about baby Jesus being born in the manger. Instead, he wrote of  the coming of Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom at the end of the age. So while this song is an excellent carol for Christmas, it’s also a wonderful choice for all other seasons of the year.

My favorite stanza of “Joy to the World” goes like this:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the Curse is found.

It always makes me feel joyful to sing that verse, because it’s such a clear explanation of the nature of our suffering in this life. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden (in response to the lie of Satan), sin and death entered the world. Because of this, Genesis 3 tells us that this present world is fallen, and ruined by “The Curse”. But Jesus Christ has died on the cross and risen from the grave to redeem and restore all things. “He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.”

So, here’s what I have come to realize: Very often when people have troubles, they shake their fist in the wrong direction. God is not the cause of our suffering. He created the world in perfection. We need to rightly place our blame and anger. We need to blame Adam, not the Almighty. We must hate the Devil, not the Deliverer. Our suffering comes because of sin, not the Saviour. The fault lies with the Curse, not with the Cross.

Several years ago, an older friend of mine was suffering terribly with an awful head cold. He said, “Brother John, I prayed this morning and asked the Lord to take this cold and give it to the devil.â€� Now that’s what I call understanding where to place the blame! Dear mamas, this fallen world has its share of trouble and sadness. Draw near to the Lord this week, and He will strengthen you and deliver you from the evil one.

Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.� He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and is in the middle of his 25th year of being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi.  He and his lovely wife, Susan, and his sons, Spencer (age 18) and Seth (age 15) live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where Walter, the pup in the picture at right with Spencer, now weighs close to 100 pounds!) He would love to hear from you in an email sent to extramailbox@juno.com.

2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.  John 9:2,3 (NKJV)

“Aching Bones and Ugly Shoes�

By Bro. John L. Cash, “Country Preacher Dad�

I was born with a rare genetic condition that caused me to have multiple ailments and birth defects. Most of  the time throughout my life, I’ve been in varying degrees of constant physical pain. My most noticeable deformity is my right foot and leg—the foot has only two toes on it and is about half the size of my left foot, and the leg is an inch-and-a-half shorter than my left leg.

As a child I wore two different sized shoes, and my right shoe was built up to make up the difference in limb length. Growing up, I had my share of ugly orthopedic shoes. Now, as an adult, I have a prosthetic foot that fits inside my regular-sized shoe.

When you’re growing up with a handicap, other children can be cruel. I was blessed with parents who taught me how to meet the world head-on when it comes to things like this. I’ll never forget as a pre-schooler coming into the house crying because the neighborhood kids were teasing me because I only had two toes. My mother said, “Oh, those kids don’t know anything. Go outside and tell them you’re the lucky one! Tell them that it doesn’t take you as long to take a bath at night because you don’t have as many toes to wash between!â€�

So I did.

But the thing that I’m most thankful for in this situation is that both my parents brought me up in the admonition of the Lord, with a Christian world view. Whenever I was fretful about my difficulties, my parents would always say, “John, that’s just how the Lord made you.â€�

Now, here’s the amazing thing. When my parents said that, and when I heard it, we were all on the same page. This was just the way God had made me. And we weren’t mad at Him. And we all loved Him. And we trusted Him whole-heartedly. We understood that the world belonged to God because He made it. He had a plan for all eternity. He allowed things that we didn’t understand to happen, and even if we didn’t understand them, He was still God. And God loved us, and we loved Him.

I don’t think as many people now have the Christian worldview that my parents gave me. We’re really among the first generations of people to shake our fists at God about all the small things that don’t suit us.

Up until the 20th century, people accepted suffering and death as a natural part of life in this fallen world. Keep in mind that, at that time, most families had a child that didn’t survive into adulthood. Now that the Lord has blessed us all with so many gifts and with such comfortable lives, we don’t know how to handle it when every little detail doesn’t go according to OUR plans.

I’m so glad my parents raised me with the outlook I have because it’s the worldview that Jesus taught.  In today’s Scripture lesson (at the top) the disciples of Jesus met a man who was born blind. They asked the Lord why God had made this happen;  had this man sinned, or was he born this way because of the sins of his parents? Jesus answered that neither the man nor his parents had sinned, but that this blindness had happened so that the glory of God could be shown in the man’s life.

The creed of this age in which we now live is, “It’s all about me.� But Jesus challenges that idea as we step out to follow Him. Life isn’t ALL about us. Sure, our concerns figure into the picture—but life is also about  caring for others, and about bringing glory and honor to God. After all, He is our Creator, and without Him we would never have had the gift of life. He is our Redeemer, and without Him we would have never had a single moment of joy.

Dear mamas, as you go through this week, thank God for blessing you. Teach your babies to view this world the way our Heavenly Father sees it. Ask Him to show you how you can use your troubles and burdens to bring glory to Him.

Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad� (Sing that to the title to the tune of “Secret Agent Man) He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and is in the middle of his 25th year of being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi.  He and his lovely wife, Susan, and his sons, Spencer (age 18) and Seth (age 15) live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where the Lord has blessed the Preacher there with better health the older he has gotten.) He would love to hear from you in an email sent to extramailbox@juno.com.

The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.  Psalm 145:17 (NKJV)

“The Foundation From Which We Work�

By Bro. John L. Cash, “Country Preacher Dad�

In every situation, it’s important to know who you’re dealing with. When I was about 5-years-old, I spent a week with my aunt and uncle while my mother was in the hospital.  As I was sitting in my uncle’s lap (an uncle that I adored), he suddenly noticed that my fingernails needed trimming and offered to cut them. I readily agreed—until he revealed that he did not have any fingernail clippers, and that he would be completing the task with his faithful pocketknife! When he saw my reluctance, he was clearly disappointed at my lack of trust.

My uncle told me that when his daughter was a little girl, she always let him cut her fingernails with his pocketknife. I asked him if the pocketknife made her nails rough and jagged. He said, “Oh, no. Perfectly smooth. I always keep my little knife very sharp.� Then I asked him if his daughter was ever afraid that he would cut her. I will never forget his answer: “Oh, no. She knew I would never cut her. I am her father.�

At that point, I told my uncle that he could pare my fingernails with his knife. He completed the task quickly, smoothly, comfortably, and perfectly. I was amazed at how perfectly smooth my fingernails looked and what a nice “manicure� he had given me.  My uncle’s knife was keenly sharp, and he was wonderfully skilled. I would never entrust myself to the skills of a stranger, but I realized that there’s no reason to fear when you are in the good hands of someone who loves you.

If such is the trust we can have in an earthly father, how much more can we rely on our Heavenly Father? He would never slip and cut us; He is our Father. And, His finished work in our lives will be glorious. Today’s Scripture lesson (at the top) says that God is righteous in “ALL His ways� and gracious in “ALL his works.� He is too loving to ever be cruel, and too wise to ever make a mistake. In spite of our circumstances, we must always believe this—based on what He has told us in the Word and also from what we know in our hearts.

Today is Valentine’s Day, the holiday when we remember love. It’s a fitting day to remember our Heavenly Father because St. John said that “God is love.� Dear mamas, start today to entrust your circumstances and the lives of your babies into the hands of the One who will never fail you; He is your Father.

Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad� (Sing that to the title to the tune of “Secret Agent Man) He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and is in the middle of his 25th year of being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi.  He and his lovely wife, Susan, and his sons, Spencer (age 18) and Seth (age 15) live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where the piano player, Miss Cheryl, once told the Preacher that she trusted HER father to cut her fingernails with his pocketknife when she was a little girl.) He would love to hear from you in an email sent to extramailbox@juno.com.