Cornerstone

I pulled into the Millington, TN Walmart parking lot and found quickly found a space up front, close to the store. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. It was the space right next to the handicap parking space. I was somewhat disturbed when I returned from doing my shopping, however, to discover that I had a parking ticket on my window. What was my infraction? One of my tires was on the line separating my parking space from the handicap parking space. As a result of not parking straight I had to pay a fine.

There are lines everywhere. There are lines down the middle of the road. Sometimes there are double lines down the middle of the road. There are lines on the football field, on the baseball diamond and on the basketball court. The lines are their for a purpose. They are to show you your limits and to give you direction.

As a youngster I remember getting into an argument with another boy. A line was drawn in the dirt and the dare went out, “You’d better not step over that line if you know what is good for you.”

Elijah drew a line in the dirt as well. He said, 1 Kings 18:21 . . . How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. KJV

Jesus also drew a line in the dirt. He said, “You have a choice to make. Are you going to serve me or are you going to serve your own desires and worldly ambitions?”

We today are faced with a choice. Will it be Christ? Or will it be Satan?

By Dr. Gayle Woods

Genesis 3:16-24 (23)

  [23] Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

The Rejection Hotline is a fake phone number you can give out instead of your real number. Callers hear the Rejection Hotline message and are not-so-subtly informed of your non-interest. 

Who hasn’t known the pain of being chosen last for a game of basketball?  Who hasn’t known the pain of being rejected by a lady that you asked out to dinner?  Writers receive rejection slips.  Actors receive rejection notices.  All of these say, “You are not good enough.”  “You are not our choice.” 

New research suggests that the same areas in the brain that signify physical pain are activated at moments of intense social loss. (“Social Rejection Shares Somatosensory Representations With Physical Pain,” by Ethan F. Kross, Marc G. Berman, Walter Mischel, Edward E. Smith and Tor D. Wager)

The greatest rejection was first felt by God when Adam and Eve chose to leave Him out of their lives.  This was followed by an automatic rejection that comes because Divine justice cannot countenance Sin.  “Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden.”  That was a terrible day which is only overshadowed by the immensity of the prophetic assurance that eternal rejection awaits all who chose to reject God in this life.

Dr. Gayle Woods