5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. ~ Proverbs 1:5,6  NKJV

By Bro. John L. Cash

Just like I promised, I’m back this week with the solution to last week’s riddle.  In case you’ve forgotten, here is the puzzle:

  “The poor man has it.

   The rich man needs it.

   It is too difficult for God.

   If you eat it, you will die.”

    What is it?

Well, here’s the answer:  “NOTHING”

Now just think about it. The poor man has nothing. The rich man needs nothing.  If you eat nothing, you will die. And, most of all, nothing is to difficult for God.

Did you know that the Bible teaches that nothing is too difficult for God? Mark 10:27 tells us, “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

That is a wonderful promise to know. No matter how difficult or hopeless our situation may look to us, it never looks that way to God. Nothing is too difficult for Him.

However, that promise is also a very easy promise to forget. Several years ago, I was going through some problems in our family. (Contrary to popular belief, country preachers and their families are not immune to trials or troubles. In fact, they have all the same problems that you have, plus a few more that are unique to life in the ministry!) Some good friends who knew me well “read between the lines” in this blog, and reached out to counsel and comfort me. I got an email that went something like this:

Don’t be sad, Brother John. And don’t worry. Jesus said that the missing coin gets found, the prodigal son comes home, and the good shepherd brings the wandering lamb back to the fold. Put your faith in Him!

Friends, that’s the best advice of all, and it is absolutely true. The older I get, the more I see that we spend our whole lives learning the same lesson over and over:  Jesus Christ can be trusted to help in any difficulty that we have, if we only put our faith in Him. Nothing is to hard for Him, so put your faith in Him today. And keep reminding me to do that, too.

Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 27 years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. (On week days has a desk-job at a public school and teaches Latin on closed-circuit-television.)  He and his lovely wife, Susan, live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where it is “Second Sunday Potluck-Dinner Day” today.)  The Cashes have two sons, Spencer (age 22), and Seth (age 18), who live in the parsonage, too, except when they are away at college.  He would love to hear from you in an email sent to countrypreacherdad@gaggle.net.

2 “Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel.”~ Ezekiel 17:2 (KJV)

By Bro. John L. Cash

Greetings to all and Happy Mother’s Day!  As I promised, I’m back this week with the solutions to the puzzles I offered two weeks ago.

Riddle #1:

“Two died who were never born, and two were born who never died.” Who were these four people, and how do you explain them?

The two people “who were born but never died” were Enoch and Elijah. The prophet Elijah was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11). Enoch walked with God during his lifetime, and did not see death.  (Hebrews  11:5).

Of course, the two people “who died but were never born” were Adam and Eve. I wonder, did Adam and Eve have belly buttons?

Riddle #2:

“The oldest man who ever lived, died before his father did.” Who were these two guys, and what’s their story?

Solving the first riddle will help you to solve this one. Methuselah was the oldest man who ever lived, reaching the ripe old age of 969 years. His father was Enoch.  Now, you do the math….  (Genesis 5:21-24)

Riddle #3:

“This great creature was created on the fifth day and in earlier times helped to provide light where there was darkness. For a short time he had a soul within him, but he lost it.”

Name this creature.

The answer to this riddle is “The Whale.” Whales were created on the 5^th day of Creation, and in olden times their blubber was used to make lamp-oil and candles. The “soul” that the whale had inside him for a short time was Jonah.

How did you do?

Before I go today, I  have one last riddle for you:

“The poor man has it.

The rich man needs it.

It is too difficult for God.

If you eat it, you will die.”

What is it?

(Think about it, and I’ll tell you the answer next week. No Googling!  Happy Mother’s Day! See you next week….)

Blessings,

Brother John

Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 27 years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. (On week days has a desk-job at a public school and teaches Latin on closed-circuit-television.)  He and his lovely wife, Susan, live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where the folks have heard these riddles a thousand times.)  The Cashes have two sons, Spencer (age 21), and Seth (age 18), who live in the parsonage, too, except when they are away at college.  He would love to hear from you in an email sent to countrypreacherdad@gaggle.net.

16 ¶ Rejoice always,

17 pray without ceasing,

18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 6:16-17 (NKJV)

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

When the kids were little…

From the letters I get, I sense that a lot of my readers are mothers with small children. My sons are almost grown now, but Istill have warm memories of their childhoods and I reflect on those days often. Since you now stand where I once stood, I want to pass along some good advice I got when my babies were small—along with something I’ve learned myself since then.

When my sons were babies, parents who had older children or teenagers always told me, “Treasure these days! Enjoy them while they’re little.  These days will fly by, and they are only babies once.” So, Susan and I tried to do that. We did strive to treasure those days and to make the most of them, kind of like when the Bible says “Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)  The days of infancy and early childhood are magical and worthy of all celebration.

Big brother meets little brother

However, the advice I got from other parents also made me feel a little anxious and apprehensive. What I mean is, they sort of made it sound like, “It’s wonderful when your kids are little—but once those days are over, life isn’t good any more.” It was depressing to hear them imply that after “the baby years” life is all downhill from there!

Well, the years have passed, and I want you to know what I’ve discovered. The years of infancy and toddlerhood are wonderful. But so are the elementary school years. And the middle school years are lots of fun. And the junior high years bring lots of smiles and laughs. And the high school years have lots of happy occasions and joys. And the beginning of the college years bring lots of  happiness, too. I guess what I’m saying is the same thing Carly Simon said in her song “Anticipation”:  “These are the good old days.”

Now let me make myself clear. There hasn’t been a single period of married life or parenthood that hasn’t had its share of trials and struggles. We have to seek help from the Lord and our friends and loved ones in those hard times. But every period of life has its blessings, too. I plan on looking for the joy and blessing in every stage of life I pass through—because I think that’s what our Lord wants us to do.

I’m sorry I can’t write more right now, but you see, I’ve got some things to do. Spencer is telling me about the fine points of the English poetry that he’s studying, and Seth is grilling Susan and me a venison steak from the deer that he shot last fall. (You get the picture.)

Mamas, whatever the period of life, love your family. Seize the day.

Note from the mamas: This post previously ran on Motherlode in January 2012. Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 25 years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. (On week days he works at a public school.)  He and his lovely wife, Susan, and his sons, Spencer (age 19) and Seth (age 16) live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where the Preacher misses his sons sitting in his lap but is also glad they can now run their own bathwater.) He would love to hear from you in an email sent to jcash@scott.k12.ms.us.

15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  ~ 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

By Bro. John L. Cash

They say variety is the spice of life, so this week’s column is something  completely different. Today, instead of writing a story, I’m giving you some Bible riddles for you and your little ones to solve. Fulfill the words of today’s Scripture verse (at the top) and “study to show yourself approved.” You can use your Bibles, but NO GOOGLING ALLOWED!

Riddle #1:

“Two died who were never born, and two were born who never died.” Who were these four people, and how do you explain them?

Riddle #2:

“The oldest man who ever lived, died before his father did.” Who were these two guys, and what’s their story?

Riddle #3:

“This great creature was created on the fifth day, and in earlier times helped to provide light where there was darkness. For a short time he had a soul within him, but he lost it.”

Name this creature.

Be sure to tune in for the answers in next week’s column!

Blessings (and happy riddling),

Brother John

Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 27 years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. (On week days has a desk-job at a public school and teaches Latin on closed-circuit-television.)  He and his lovely wife, Susan, live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where the folks still enjoy a good brain-teaser.)  The Cashes have two sons, Spencer (age 21), and Seth (age 18), who live in the parsonage, too, except when they are away at college.  He would love to hear from you in an email sent to countrypreacherdad@gaggle.net.

1 ¶ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Romans 6:1,2 (NKJV)

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

I’m going to let you in on a pastoral “trade secret.” When you’re studying in seminary, there are lots of lists of things to learn. So what do you do to manage all this holy information? Of course, you use a mnemonic device!

Suppose you need to be able to list “The Seven Deadly Sins” on the exam for your Historical Theology class. This is not daunting at all; you only need to think of the castaways on “Gilligan’s Island”— all of which are clearly linked to one of the besetting sins. Here’s the rundown:

1) The Skipper: That’s an easy one. Clearly he’s overcome by the sin of Anger. He’s always turning red and hollering at Gilligan while he hits him on the head with his hat.

2) The Millionaire, Thurston Howell, III: Clearly his prevailing fault is Greed. He thinks he can buy his way out of any situation. Why else would he have brought all of those suitcases of money on the three-hour cruise?

3) Lovey, the Millionaire’s wife: Her grievous failing is Sloth. She just lounges around and never does any work of any sort. And she always wears those gloves so that she doesn’t have to put her hands in the dishwater.

4) The Professor: He is clearly afflicted with Pride. He thinks he knows everything. So why can’t he take two clam shells and build a GPS tracking device?

5) Ginger: This red-haired bombshell is constantly overcome by Lust. Why else would she always be whispering and acting flirty around all the men so she can get them to do the things that she wants?

6) Mary Ann: You might think that this down-to-earth girl doesn’t have any faults. But this farm girl is consumed with the vice of Envy. She wants to be Ginger so badly she can’t see straight.

7) Gilligan: Even though he’s the skinniest, clearly his failing is Gluttony. Whenever Ginger and Mary Ann make coconut pies for everyone, he always steals them while they’re cooling and eats six of them. And then his stomach hurts because he’s such a glutton.

Now that you know the seven deadly sins, teach the list to your children. And while you’re at it, teach them that ALL sins (not just these seven) are deadly sins. Whenever we sin, it’s deadly to our souls and to our relationship with the living God. I’m not allowed to preach to the students I work with at school, but I have an adage that I try to impress upon them all: “You can’t do wrong and expect things to turn out right.” This week, let’s live in a manner that shows that God’s way is the best way, and teach this to those following in our footsteps.

 Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 27 years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. (On week days has a desk-job at a public school and teaches Latin on closed-circuit-television.)  He and his lovely wife, Susan, live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where they like all those old shows from back in the day.)  The Cashes have two sons, Spencer (age 21), and Seth (age 18), who live in the parsonage, too, except when they are away at college.  He would love to hear from you in an email sent to countrypreacherdad@gaggle.net.