Crash And Burn     04/02/23

Fort Clinch State Park, Fernandina Beach, Florida

After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.  The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ~ Matthew 4:2-3     We talked yesterday about why Jesus was sent into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted.  Now we’re getting into how.  First, why forty?  There’s a lot of Old Testament correlation around the number forty – the Israelites wandered in the desert 40 years (Numbers 32:13).  Moses and Elijah both fasted for 40 days as they drew near to God. (Deuteronomy 9:9, I Kings 19:8) and several others.  Fasting that long makes a body weak.  Jesus wasn’t trying to prove anything, but He took this time to draw near to God and to acknowledge His dependence on Him – even though He was the Son of God.  It was this time in a physically weakened human state that Satan came to Jesus to tempt Him.  When does the evil one usually tempt us?  It’s at our weakest point, whether physically or mentally.  He never tries to tempt us when we’re strong.  He roars around like a lion seeking who he can devour. (I Peter 5:8)  Satan isn’t questioning whether or not Jesus is the Son of God, he’s taunting Him.  It would’ve been nothing for Jesus to do what Satan suggested, but then He wouldn’t be relying on God to care for Him.  What is your area of greatest weakness?  Where does Satan tempt you the most? 

It’s Palm Sunday and we visited First Baptist of Fernandina Beach.  Turned out, the Pastor was at Part 3 of a three part series on money (eye roll).  We tithe, but we still don’t like hearing messages about money.  Weird, huh?  Well, this one was different. The Pastor spoke on the lavish generosity of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet, in the home of Simon the (former) Leper, and the reaction of Judas (the thief and betrayer). 

As he was trying to explain to us the value of the perfume Mary used, we learned a few things.  First of all, the perfumed oil came from India, created from wild roses that grew exclusively in the Himalayan mountains.  The petals were crushed and the oil used for perfume.  Two to three drops would last at least 48 hours.  His point being, that this gift would’ve wafted around Jesus for a long time – even through His crucifixion – allowing Him (as a man) to remember the love of those who believed, and overshadowing the scorn of those who did not.

The Pastor even quoted Coco Channel, “(perfume scent) announces your arrival and prolongs your departure.”  I experienced an example of this in days long gone by.  I had come to our church in the middle of the week for something.  A friend of mine came in some time later, and upon discovering me there made the announcement that she knew I was in the building because when she walked in, she could smell my perfume.  Isn’t that crazy??

The pastor continued to make his point about the extravagance of Mary’s gift by telling us he’d done some contemporary research and came up with Parfum VI by Gianni Vive Sulman: $89,000 and enjoyed by both Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson.  I looked it up because I couldn’t remember the full name of it to share with you, and discovered (at least from my perspective) that most likely, it isn’t so much the scent, as it is the packaging that’s expensive.  There are diamonds surrounding the stopper, and the box has gold hinges and a gold key, plus there are rubies and more diamonds.  I couldn’t find out how many ounces you get for that price.

But I discovered another one that goes for $1.5 mill!  It’s Shumukh by Nabeel made in Dubai, and again, it would seem it’s the container it comes in that makes it expensive.  I wonder what I’d have to pay to get mine in a plain glass container with a plain spritzer and pop-off top?

Anyway, I digress, this really wasn’t the point of the message at all.  The point was for us to begin dreaming big generosity dreams.  What would we do if we suddenly had money to dispose of?  He suggested we begin a Generosity Bucket List.  I LOVE that idea!!  Much better than a selfish one!  We never know but that God will use us to further His Kingdom by honoring that list.  And the list can contain both large and small things.  I mean sure, we could put funding a mission trip on it or redecorating our church.  But what about giving a 50% tip to all our servers instead of 10% – or less.  What about simply being open to the Spirit’s leading and leaving an envelope of money anonymously on the doorstep of someone in need?  And it’s not just money.  What about giving food?  Or our time?  Or lending our expertise for free?  A batch of cookies for the neighborhood children?  The list is endless! 

When Blaine became the leader of a mission group from our old church, my job was to encourage the people of the church – all the people – to participate.  It was an older congregation, and many weren’t physically able to do much.  Some simply didn’t have the resources to give as they may’ve liked.  But I did the math and challenged the attenders that even if each person gave $1/week, above and beyond their regular giving, we would accumulate over $900 during the course of the preparation time.  Many took me up on my challenge, much to the dismay of the treasurers.  😊

Start thinking!  What can you do?  How can you be a person known by God for charity with what belongs to Him in the first place?

After lunch today, we took on a mountain bike trail within the confines of the Park.  Come on, now.  We’re at the beach.  How mountainous could it be?  It wasn’t.  Sand, roots and some very small hills.  That’s it.

And yet.

Blaine fell off the trail and rolled into a ‘ravine’. 

There were some narrow places on this trail, and his rear tire hit a tree as he rolled over some roots.  He lost his balance and because the trail was so narrow and there was no ground on the left side, he had no place to put his foot down.  So I watched him fall in slow motion.  He did manage to roll.

Injuries sustained?  A bright red line across his back from one side to the other. A scraped forearm and a slightly punctured knee.  Not too bad.  I think his pride was injured more.

Later in the day, his shoulder was a bit sore, but overall, he was fine.  Thank goodness!  Enjoy the pictures from the day.  There aren’t many.

We’re planning on experiencing a ‘first’ tomorrow! Tune in and see what we were up to!