He and his dad pulled the old truck out of the horse barn. His uncle had told him he could have the truck when he wanted it – a 1957 F-250 with one of the first V8 engines Ford made that stayed together. It was a work-horse of a truck in its day but had been sitting in the barn for 30 years. The 14year old young man wanted to take on the project.
The dad and son worked together pulling the oil pan and valve covers, reworking the brakes, visiting junk yards and searching auto shops that carried rebuilt starters, water pumps, hydraulic cylinders, and carburetor kits. When the young man turned sixteen he had a truck that ran. It was no longer dead in the barn but renewed with a second life.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2. In this third week of the Pentecost challenge, we have moved most of the way through Romans. Paul has told us to rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character, hope (Rom.5:3-4). And he made the case that we are adoptees into the family of God – we did not receive a Spirit that makes us slaves again to fear, rather we received the Spirit of sonship! We are children of God, heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus the Christ (Rom.8:15-17). Wow! And he explained to the Jews how spiritual lineage through Christ allowed Gentiles to be grafted into the faith without the Jewish lineage to Abraham and Moses. In this passage, Paul gives a charge to new believers to stay alert to how the old life, the old habits, the old religious teaching can impede the renewing of the mind. The call was to be transformed out of the pattern that had shaped them up to this time. Religiosity can be blinding. It has, and continues to close eyes and ears to Jesus being the Messiah. What patterns have shaped you to this point in your life? Are you in a good place, in a church that challenges you spiritually as a man, husband and father? Or are you more like the old truck in the barn, in need of some friends that will pull you out of your slumber and help get you in good spiritual shape? Open your eyes, ears and heart to the word of God and be renewed.
The truck was appropriately named, ‘Laz’. It was renewed with purpose as a working truck by a young man’s passion and mechanical know-how. Start where you are, use what you have and do what you can – Accept the Pentecost challenge and be Renewed:
- Create a consistent 30-minute window of time each day;
- Pray briefly for the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s word;
- Read three chapters of Scripture a day, Acts through Jude;
- Write down a verse or two that resonates with you;
- Close in prayer incorporating the passage written down.
Prayer guide: Father, thank You for Your word and Your servant Paul. I confess religion was the pattern that shaped my early years. I was convicted that I could never be good enough and walked away from the faith. Forgive me. As an adult, I accepted a challenge to read the Bible and You opened my eyes, ears and heart to you as my Father. You renewed my purpose as a man, husband and father, and equipped me to lead my family spiritually by example. I want the kids to know You because they know me. That is the dad You call me to be, and that is the dad my kids need to see. Amen.
A faithful father opens his eyes, ears and heart to be renewed by Scripture.
