It has been a blessing to continue to have some rain in our area and everyone has been raving about the cooler temperatures we have had this week.  I think that one morning we even had a low of 48 degrees.  While the temperature changes have been nice, the changes in the weather and the cooler temperatures have not gone unnoticed by my bones and my joints.

I have some aches and pains that appear in my shoulders, knees and my feet at this time of year.  Sometimes when I go through the list of all that is hurting it is like I am singing that kid song, “Shoulders, knees and toes.”  I like to claim that most of the aches and pains are due to old sports related injuries.  Although it is true that I have always played hard when I was playing, the truth is not all of the bumps and bruises I have received have come from noble pursuits of competition.  There are some stunts I have tried that should have been left on the drawing board.  There are some battles I have picked which simply were not worthy of fighting.  And there have also been some injuries I have sustained which fall into the “Hey guys watch this!” category.  The aches and pains are not that bad; they don’t slow me down too much but they do serve to remind me that I can slip, stumble and fall.  I can get banged up and bruised.  Most of the bumps and bruises I experience happen when I do things that I shouldn’t be doing.  In 1 Corinthians 10:12 Paul writes

1Cor 10:12 “Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

In that portion of his letter to the church Paul describes for his readers the fact that despite their spiritual blessings and recent deliverance from Egypt, the people of Israel stumbled and fell while they were in the wilderness.  They forgot whose they were and how they were supposed to act.  Paul encouraged his readers to learn from Israel’s failures in the wilderness.  Just as we should learn from the past mistakes of those referenced in the Holy Scriptures, we should learn from our own past mistakes as well.  The bumps and bruises that we picked up in the past should serve to remind us of how easily we too can fall.  Our little aches and pains should inspire us not to be overtaken by pride and not to tread on slippery slopes.  We are to always remember whose we are and how we should act and how easily we can fall when left to our own devices.  We must not wallow in despair over those self-inflicted injuries of the past, but having confessed our sins we must resolve that we will learn from the past, stand firm on the word of God and lean on Christ our Savior so that we do not fall again!

Gotta go, been sitting in this chair too long.  I just checked the weather, it is supposed to rain later this week.  I have received confirmation from my shoulders, knees and toes.  Until next time, stay strong in the faith.