"The Windy Day"

I’ve been gone from here for nearly two weeks while traveling to be with my son and his family in NM. It was a long trip because of the difficulty in traveling with my knees. They limited the length of time I could sit in a vehicle. But we made it anyway, even if it did take most of five days.

So now I’m here in Belen and everyone is gone to work and school. .I’ve been listening to that desert wind blowing for most of the day. ( Did you ever read Winnie the Pooh? Then you know my reference for the title. ) The wind is something about NM that you either love or hate. If you have to live here, it is better to love it. And I do.

It has caused me to be thinking this last while on the verse from Ephesians 4:14: about how we should be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. How easy it is to understand that here where the wind moves things that you would think should be secure.

The UPS man came a little bit ago with a package for Kerra. In Ohio, where even a ‘windy’ day only raises waves on the lake and flutters the flags, it would have been left on the step until the recipients returned home. By the time I got to the door the UPS man was preparing to tie it to the fence! He was concerned the wind would blow it away! That’s a NM wind! You better tie things down.

How easy it might be for those who would seem to be settled in their experience and rooted in the Word of God to be "carried away by one of these strong winds of doctrine". Oh, we expect the ‘children" as Paul says, to be moved by sweet sounding words and nice sentiments, but we, WE, are strong in the Word. Any little wind puffing by might move them, but not US! But we need to be on the alert, a wind of doctrine isn’t always necessarily a gentle balmy puff as we often envision it to be when we think on this passage.

Looking out the window here, it is a beautiful day. Everything seems wonderful and a nice walk would be in keeping with appearances. But when we get outside! Then we feel the force of that wind. That is just the way it is with some of those ‘winds of doctrine" They seem fine and lovely and the men presenting them make them sound so good and logical and biblical! But they are blowing strong deception. And we need ti be making our calling and election sure on a daily basis. Peter warns us that if we do this daily we will not stumble in following the Lord; it only those who assume that they are OK and rest on their laurels who are in danger of being caught up with some strange wind of doctrine. And they are not all gentle zephyrs.