Crankshaft Position Sensor - March 28, 2018

An Arkie's Faith column from the March 28, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

Last month as we were driving our Kia, the engine stumbled momentarily, and the tachometer dropped to zero. The Kia continued to run, but with limited power. We continued on our way but found that once we stopped the Kia and restarted it, the tachometer worked again and the engine had full power. We were traveling for several hours that day, and the Kia stumbled several more times. Each time we just had to stop and restart the engine for the Kia to operate properly again.

When we returned home, I had the trouble codes scanned and found that the code for a faulty crankshaft position sensor was present. As I researched the problem I was having, I found that many Kia owners had experienced the same problem. I decided to replace the crankshaft position sensor myself. I ordered a new sensor from a local auto parts store and installed it. When I finished installing the sensor, the car wouldn’t start. It exhibited some very crazy symptoms. The car engine would only turn over a couple of times and then it would stop. The tachometer would read 8,000 RPM’s even though the engine was not turning over. There was a buzzing noise coming from the engine until I would disconnect the battery. I was stumped.

Before I installed the new sensor, the Kia had been drivable even though the engine occasionally stumbled. But now it was disabled in my shop. I used the internet to research my problem, but couldn’t find anyone who had dealt with similar symptoms. I decided to put the old sensor back in so I could still drive the car, but nothing changed when I did. After spending several hours doing everything I could think of, I gave up and called a repair shop. I towed the Kia to the shop and dropped it off. When the mechanic called me, he told me that he had found a blown fuse, and the Kia was running again.

I decided to reinstall the new sensor. When I finished installing the sensor and tried to start the car, once again it wouldn’t start. I knew which fuse had blown, so I checked it, and sure enough, it was blown. I unplugged the sensor and then changed the fuse. The moment that I plugged the sensor back in, the fuse blew. The sensor must have a short in it, I thought. I called the auto parts store, and they ordered a replacement sensor. When I installed the replacement sensor, the Kia started right up and ran fine. My problems had been caused by a defective new part.

As I thought about all of the time and money I had spent on the Kia, I realized that part of the problem was with my troubleshooting. Of all of the things that I considered while I was trying to figure out the problem, I never considered that the new part might be bad. I assumed that because it was brand new, it couldn’t be the problem, so I looked elsewhere.

Sometimes in life, we do the same thing. We are so sure that some things are true that we don’t investigate them. I see this phenomenon on a daily basis on social media. People will repost articles that with a little research can be proven to be false. But because they believe the premise or agree with the slant of the article, they repost it without investigation. We have become a society of fake news.

Most Christians are a bit like I was while I was working on my Kia. They are so sure of a lot of their beliefs that they never investigate them. God wants us to believe. John 3:16 (NKJV) tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God wants us to believe, but it does make a difference what we believe.

When Jesus was talking with the Pharisees in Matthew 15:3 (NKJV) He asked them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” He continued. “you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” Matthew 15:6 (NKJV) The Pharisees were so sure of their beliefs and traditions that they would never even consider the possibility that they were wrong.

Jesus had some strong words for the Pharisees, and possibly for us, in Matthew 15:7-9 (NKJV) “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

I have noticed that many Christians believe very strongly in their traditions. Traditions are not inherently good or bad, right or wrong. Some people defend traditions because the church has practiced it that way for years. Christians should be neither "traditional" nor "non-traditional.” They should neither accept nor oppose a practice simply because it is a tradition. It doesn’t matter how long we have practiced something or when it began. What’s important is what God’s word says about it. If God's word requires it, then we must do it. If God's word forbids it, then we must oppose it even if it is a tradition. If God’s word is silent, then there is no problem with tradition, but I can’t expect all Christians to follow just because it is my tradition.

Gentle Reader, are you following God, or are you following human traditions and doctrines that differ from His word? Don’t just accept that everything you believe is true. All truth will stand up to close investigation. “Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (AMP)

Old Washington - March 21, 2018

An Arkie's Faith column from the March 21, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

Washington, Arkansas is a peaceful tree-shaded town and one of the most amazing historic places in Arkansas. The old town still looks like the 19th century with plank board sidewalks and streets that have never been paved. Most of the town is now a part of Historic Washington State Park. It is commonly referred to as Old Washington. In the State Park, there are over thirty restored historic structures including the oldest building in Arkansas built of hand-hewn timber.

From its establishment in 1826, Washington was an important stop for pioneers traveling to Texas. Frontiersmen James Bowie, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett all traveled through Washington on their way to the Alamo. Houston planned parts of the revolt strategy in a tavern in Washington during 1834.  James Black, a local blacksmith, is credited with creating the legendary Bowie knife carried by Jim Bowie at his blacksmith shop in Washington.

Following the capture of Little Rock by the Union Army in 1863, the Confederate government moved the state government offices to Hot Springs for a short time, then moved the state government to Washington, making it the Capital of Confederate Arkansas from 1863-1865. When the railroad that connected much of the state with Little Rock was built in the late 19th century, it was eight miles from Washington. Because it was no longer on the main travel route, Washington began a slow decline. Most of the businesses in Washington moved to Hope, Arkansas, which was on the railroad.

In 1958, townspeople formed the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation to preserve the town's old structures. The once thriving community that had served as the capitol of Arkansas during the Civil War was now home to less than 300 people. In 1973 the area became an Arkansas State Park. The park contains 54 vintage buildings, 30 of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.

For the past fifty years, the town of Washington has held a Jonquil Festival each spring. My wife and I attended this year’s festival. It was a warm sunny day, and the tiny town was crowded with thousands of people. The event included arts and crafts vendors, food, music, a car show and a tractor show. Many of the historic homes were open for tours.

At the old blacksmith shop, there were several blacksmiths giving demonstrations. I enjoyed watching the blacksmiths at work. My wife’s grandfather was born in 1855 and was a blacksmith by trade in Stratton, Colorado. Her Dad said that when he was a boy, you could hear his father’s anvil ringing all over town. When the anvil quit ringing, you had better get home. It was time for supper.

As I watched the blacksmith at work, he took a flat bar of steel and shaped it into a knife. He placed the bar of steel into the glowing coals until the steel was red hot. Then he took the steel out of the coals and shaped it on the anvil by beating it with a hammer. The process had to be repeated many times to shape the bar of steel into a knife.

When a blacksmith is working with metal, the only way that he can shape it if he has heated it in the fire. In Isaiah 44:12 (NKJV) the Bible says that “the blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms.” And in Isaiah 48:10 (NIV) God says, “I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Have you ever felt like you were being tested in the furnace of affliction? I know I have.

As the blacksmith at Old Washington was demonstrating his craft, he stuck the metal he was shaping deep into the burning coals and cranked the bellows until the coals flared up in brilliant flames. The metal bar glowed bright orange from the intense heat. He pulled it from the heat, explaining that the metal needed to be hot enough to be pliable but that he didn't want to melt it. Swinging around to his anvil, he shaped the metal bar with carefully placed blows from his hammer. I watched as he made mental calculations as to the amount of heat and the points of impact needed to form the metal to the shape he wanted.

The blacksmith would heat the metal, rough out the basic shape, inspect his work and heat it again to focus on the details. It was interesting to see a simple length of metal rod being converted into something useful. It had no resemblance to the plain bar it once had been.

Gentle Reader, I can't say that I enjoy the heat, but I’m thankful that God is refining and shaping my life. Steel in the hand of a skilled blacksmith is malleable and not resilient. If the steel was resilient, then it would always bounce back to its original shape and be useless to anybody. I want to be useful, and the only way for a bar of steel to be transformed into something useful is to be put in the fire and shaped on the anvil. Remember that if you are being tried and shaped in the fires of life, that “it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 (NRSV)

Samson - March 14, 2018

An Arkie's Faith column from the March 14, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

My wife and I were spending the weekend in Branson, Missouri the weekend that the musical Samson opened at the Sight and Sound Theater. We purchased tickets and made plans to attend.
Sight and Sound is a 2,000-seat, state-of-the-art theater featured a 300-foot panoramic stage that wraps around the audience, with sets four stories tall. It is a spectacular place to see a show.

I was a bit apprehensive about the show. How would they treat the story of Samson? They could be true to the biblical narrative and still have a production filled with sex and violence. What would their focus be? In the brochure about the play, I read: “Samson literally will bring down the house. But for all the spectacle, Samson is first a story of hope. It’s for the wayward and weary—or those who know and love them.” I settled into my seat and waited for the production to begin.

The story of Samson is one of those stories that has made me sometimes wonder why it’s even in the Bible. Samson’s strength is incredible and makes such a fascinating kid’s story. He killed a lion with his bare hands. He killed thirty men at one time. He easily broke the ropes used to bind him. He killed 1,000 men with a donkey’s jawbone. He lifted the great city gates of Gaza off their hinges and carried them for miles, and with his last ounce of strength, he knocked down the pillars of Dagon’s temple, killing 3,000 people. But parts of Samson’s story are risqué enough for an adult-only film.

At the very beginning, the narrator pointed out that Samson is mentioned in the book of Hebrews as being a man of faith. He is listed as a man “who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Hebrews 11:33,34 (NKJV)

I hadn’t thought about the fact that Samson is mentioned in the Bible as being a man of faith along with people such as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. When I thought about Samson, I thought about a man who turned to violence to solve his problems and a man who could not control his passions. But God saw Samson as a man of faith. How could that be?

The production did feature Samson’s tremendous strength. During the intermission, I overheard one of the ushers talking with a small boy. The usher said, “Don’t you think that Samson is a superhero?” The boy answered, “Yes he is, but he is real because he is in the Bible.” But throughout the show, the narration kept pointing out God’s grace. The story of Samson is a story of tremendous strength, but it is also a story of tremendous weakness.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Jeff Bender, the director, writer and producer of Samson said, “the production is for the wayward and weary, but the biggest most important message of the show is about grace and God's grace for us." "We are all sinners!" he continued. "None of us are perfect; the only perfect person ever was Jesus. We are all messed up, we all have our problems that we deal with, but God's grace is always there for us no matter what we do, no matter who we are, no matter where we go, it's always there."

When I think about Samson, I think about how strong he was; but at the same time, I think about how weak he was. Although he had superhuman strength, He was a weakling when he battled against sin and temptation! Samson lived in sin all too often. He had little or no self-control. It seems that he fell for evil every time. But God never gave up on him. God never left him.

In an interview, the actor who played Samson said; "If I could say anything to anybody, it's that God's grace is there for you no matter what you've done, no matter what you think you've done, no matter how bad a person you think you are, no matter how many mistakes you've made – God still loves you. God still wants to reach out to you. God still wants you. He still thirsts for you. His grace is readily available for you."

Even in his weakness and failures, God used Samson anyway. His strength came from God. Sometimes we forget that God chose to work through Samson even though he had moral failings. He ruled Israel for 20 years and defeated many of Israel’s enemies.

Even at Samson’s lowest point, God didn’t forsake him. Judges 16:21 (NLT) tells us that, “the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.” Even in these terrible circumstances, God was with Samson, and Samson remembered God. Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” Judges 16:28 (NLT)

Gentle Reader, In spite of Samson’s weakness, God was able to use him. That can only be because of God’s grace. We too, in spite of our weaknesses, can be used by God, not because of how good we are, but through His grace. God says to you, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) Samson’s story is a story of grace, and your story can be too.

Storm Damage - March 7, 2018

An Arkie's Faith column from the March 7, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

As I drove into the driveway of my shop, my heart sank. The roof of our pole barn that we use for storage was a twisted mass if tin. The storms that night had severely damaged the roof, and the heavy rains had soaked everything inside the building. For the past month, it seemed that there had been one disaster after another in our lives. 

Because of the heavy rains that our area was experiencing, it was a week before we were able to repair the roof. When we were able to repair the roof, we discovered that over the years the roof had been leaking and the wood had rotted. When the storm came, the weakened wood wasn’t able to withstand the high winds. Besides repairing the roof, we had to replace the rotten wood.

I think sometimes our spiritual life can have leaks. I know mine can. When I am focused on what can go wrong more often than what can go right; those thoughts are not from God. Those thoughts are little leaks that over time can leave us spiritually damaged. Focusing on the negatives in this life leads us to fear, and fear is an enemy of our faith. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) tells us that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

There is something about a strong faith in God that can help us deal with the big trials in our life. God wants us to have faith in Him and not give in to fear when trials come. When a devastating hardship crashes into your life, if your faith is strong, you can reach out to God to free you from the fear. 

Most of our fears and worries in life are pesky little leaks that drip, drip, drip on the foundation of our lives. Often these small fears and worries drip into our lives undetected. But if we are dwelling on these fears, we are not focused on God’s power. Fear undermines our faith. Jesus said, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Luke 12:25 (NIV) God hasn’t given you a spirit of fear. He has given you hope.

Worry never works! It can’t add a single hour to our life. Jesus tells us, “since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12:26 (NIV) Worrying never solves problems, and it wastes our energy and time. Worry weakens the framework of our faith in God.

The damage that worry causes to our lives is slow but steady. Little by little, it can rot away our faith until our foundation in God is no longer strong. When the storms of life come, we are not able to withstand them. If I had taken time to repair the leaks in our building, the roof would have withstood the storm, and the major repairs would not have been needed. We have other buildings that have similar leaks, and we are making plans to repair them so that we won’t have major damage from a future storm. I don’t want the statement found in Ecclesiastes 10:18 (NKJV) to be true about me: “Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.”

Because I ignored the small problems, it allowed the major problem to come up. In life, there can be small problems that creep into our lives. Little things that come up and begin to create damage in our lives. 

Although fear and worry can undermine your faith, they are not the only things that can be a constant dripping in our lives. Anger is another thing that can cause a lot of damage. Paul tells us not to give the devil a foothold. In Ephesians 4:26,27 (NIV) he wrote, “in your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Anger gives the devil a foothold, and it eats away at our relationship with God. 

In my life, I have a problem with anger. When I feel that I have been mistreated, I get angry. And especially when I see family members and people that I care about being mistreated it makes me angry. Anger eats away at me and even gets in the way of my relationship with God. My anger at people spills over into anger at God. I become angry with God for allowing people to mistreat my family and me. Paul knew that this could be a problem and give the devil a foothold. Paul’s advice on dealing with people who make you angry is found in Ephesians 4:29 (TPT) “Never let ugly or hateful words come from your mouth, but instead let your words become beautiful gifts that encourage others; do this by speaking words of grace to help them.” 

Gentle Reader, if there are any small leaks in your life, bring them to Jesus. Don’t allow them to build up in your life and cause major destruction and destroy you. Don’t let worry or anger weaken your faith in God. Letting worry and anger take hold in your life, will slowly undermine your faith in God. As in the case of my roof, the small leaks can eventually cause major damage when the storms of life come. Don’t let your roof leak. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)