May 14, 2020
I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big fan of change. My favorite TV show is still Andy Griffith (although I must admit Bones comes in a close second). My favorite food is still meatloaf and mashed potatoes. My favorite shirts are the ones I’ve had for a while and when I go down to Kentucky Lake to fish, I still like to fish the same fishing holes that I fished when I was a boy fishing with my father and grandfather. I have been driving Nissans for years and the Bible that I read and study from the most was given to me by my parents as a Christmas present…in 1990! But you know what? As much as I like for things to stay the same, I have to admit that Titans football is pretty entertaining, especially lately. I really like Chinese and Mexican food. I have a “new” suit I that is my now “favorite” because I wore it the day I married Marie, and there are now three hundred thousand dollar houses sitting right smack dab on top of the riverbank, ruining my favorite “old” fishing holes on Kentucky Lake! As much as I feel comfortable with the old, I have adapted to a lot of the new and I have to admit, this “new” life is pretty good. While you might hate change, I’ll bet you don’t have a rotary phone or drive a vehicle with the gearshift on the steering column, because they don’t make either one of ‘em anymore! Society and technology have FORCED us to change. If you are honest, aren’t MOST of these changes better and don’t MOST of these changes make life easier? Now stay with me, because I am about to switch gears and transition our thoughts to things spiritual. If you have been a Christ follower for a while, I want you to think back (for some it may be waayyy back). As you have matured in your walk with the Lord, how much have you changed? You see, the Lord might take us “just as we are", but He doesn’t leave us that way! He takes us on a journey. This journey takes us to the mountaintops where you can see for miles and miles and this same journey also takes us through dark valleys where the going is tough and the path is hard to see. One of the things the old me has learned that the young me failed to grasp because he thought he knew it all is the fact that God is constantly changing me. He is molding me and crafting me much like the potter crafts his clay, with a finished product in mind. He is going about the business of changing me from Andy Plank to Jesus Christ. He has his hands full, because I don’t like change and I am hard headed but I have to admit, the journey gets brighter every day. He’s changing you too, so let’s embrace the change and enjoy the journey home!
Be blessed and be a blessing . . . Brother Andy
