When Life is but Dust, 10/26/08

“When Life is But Dust” 10/26/08

Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17

October 26, 2008 Dr. Dennis Ginoza

This morning I want to begin by saying God made you

and that’s good; but you are like dust and to dust

you shall return. The psalmist says that we

are like a dream. One moment we are here, the

next moment we’re gone. What we learn today is

nothing lasts forever. I remember my first care was

a Mustang, Sylvia had a Plymouth, then we got a Toyota;

a VW camper van, an Aerostar, a Saturn, another Saturn,

and a Mercury for our son ……. and all those cars are gone.

(I was going to count all my shoes, but I decided no way).

The Bible says you are dust and to dust you shall return.

How many of you have shopped in Mexico?

When I was fourteen years old, I went on my first trip

across the border to Tijuana, Mexico. A street

peddler was selling watches, Fifteen dollars! Ten dollars!

Seven dollars! Hmm! Maybe. Five dollars. Okay!

I bought a watch for $5.00. It looked like a nice watch, it

had a blue interior and a second hand.. I wore it to school

every day. Four weeks later the watch was dead. I was

disappointed. I could see moisture in it.

Nothing lasts forever.

When Thomas Edison Edison was a newsboy, between runs

he had lay overs in Detroit. He didn’t sit around and

waste his tiem. He went to the library to study.

The point I want to make is—time is fleeting. So I

ask you, How are you spending your time?

In 1877 Edison invented the phonograph. When he

was working on the light bulb, he failed 200 times. A

friend told him, “Why don’t you just give up?” He said,

“Now I know 200 ways not to do it. On December 21,

1879 the world was astounded. He invented the electric light bulb.

You are dust and to dust you shall return, but in the mean

time, we have time to do something worthwhile.

The typewriter was invented by a farmer,

the cotton gin by a carpenter,

the telephone from an afternoon by a teacher,

the pneumatic tire by a physician.

This morning I want to also tell you that the first sermon is that

is preached Sunday morning is not by your pastor. It is

by you. Let me tell you how.

*You preach the first sermon when you say good morning

in the parking lot, in the narthex, or as you sit in your chair.

*You preach the first sermon when you say to a visitor,

Welcome! And you slide over.

*You preach the first sermon when you sing the hymns

with joy and enthusiasm.

*You preach the first sermon when you listen to the music

attentively and appreciation.

*You preach the first sermon when you smile at a little

child or a young person or to another adult.

*You preach the first sermon when you place your gifts

in the offering plate and thank God for your blessings.

*You preach the first sermon when you listen to the

Bible reading or as you read along.

Many sermons are preached even before the your pastor gets

up to give his sermon. Good Morning!

So how are you spending your time?

Professor JA Carlson did a study about hunger. He found:

a bird can go without food for nine days,

a man or a woman twelve days,

a dog twenty days,

a turtle five hundred days,

a fish one thousand days,

insects twelve hundred days

The Bible teaches us that if we go without spiritual

food, we will eventually die and waster away.

You are dust and to dust you will return.

Jesus teaches us that when we feed our soul with spiritual

food, it will lead us to life. Jesus said, “If a child

asks for bread, will you give him a stone?” If you

give your child bread, just think how much more

your Father in heaven who loves you, will give to you.

I realize today more than yesterday, that our spirits

can be up one day, and the next, it can be

down. One person told me, when the Chargers

are losing and he can’t stand it anymore, he goes

outside and works in the garden. The economy is

down; how are you coping?

Rabbi Kushner says, “Enough is not enough.” If you had

a million dollars, is that enough? Did you hear

about the Arab who spent one million dollars in

Las Vegas in one weekend? Enough is not enough.

You are dust and to dust you will return. How bad can it

get? Rabbi Kushner tells about how he was counseling

a woman on her marriage. First she offered

him a cup of instant coffee. She got hot water from

the tap. He said, “It was the worst coffee he ever

had.” He pretended to sip on it. She told him how

terrible her husband was. He was always putting

her down. Nothing she does is good enough in his

eyes. He is always criticizing her. She told the Rabbi,

“I can’t stand it anymore. If I hear one more word of

criticism,” she said, “I’ll kill myself.” Then she said,

“Rabbi, how’s your coffee? Would you like another

cup?” What would you do? I know what I would do?

I’d have another cup.

The psalmist said, “Have compassion on your servants.”

Jesus taught us, when we give food to the hungry,

a drink to the thirsty,

clothing to the naked,

when we visit the sick and those in prison;

when we do this the least of them,

we have also done unto him. Every good deed

opens the door of the Kingdom.

The Dow Jones is going down,

people are losing their homes,

more jobs are being lost—

these are really tough times.

Emily Dickinson wrote:

Hope is the thing with feather—

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all.

Jesus teaches we are to be yoked to him like two oxen.

He said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn

from me. ...For my yoke is easy and

my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)

If there is any time to not lose hope, it is now. If there

is any time we must our faith in Christ it is now.

If there is any time when we need to help each

other, it is now.

One evening Joe was driving home on the country road.

Ever since the Levi factory closed, he was

unemployed. He was driving down a dark and

lonely road. He almost didn’t see her. A woman

in her Mercedes was stopped along the road and

for an hour, nobody stopped to helped her. She

only had a flat tire. Joe stopped to help her, but he

looked more like a bum and she was a bit scared.

He said, “I’m here to help you Ma’ma.” It was

a chilly night so he said toher, “Why don’t you wait

in my car, it’s warmer.” He changed her tire and

she asked him, “How much do I owe you?” For Joe

this was not a job, he was just there to help. He said

to her, just help someone else in need.

As the lady was heading for St. Louis, she stopped at an old

café, nothing fancy. The waitress gave her a towel

to wipe the snow off her forehead and served her with

a sweet smile. It was obvious she was eight months

pregnant. The woman gave her a $100 bill to pay for

the meal and didn’t wait for the change. The woman

wrote a note on the napkin saying, “You don’t owe

me anything. Someone else helped me once the way

I’m helping you.” That night when the waitress

came to bed, she laid down next to her husband and

said, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you Joe.”

What little we do today, the sight of God, begins to change the

universe we live in. This is the teaching of our Lord.